Millennials are stressed about finances (debt, housing, inflation), career instability and burnout, work-life balance, planning for an uncertain future, and societal pressures like political unrest, climate change, and social comparison fueled by technology, often feeling they're not meeting life's milestones despite working hard. Key stressors include student loans, stagnant wages, high living costs, lack of support in demanding jobs, and the constant juggle of responsibilities, leading to feelings of being overwhelmed and burned out.
Everyone experiences stress at some point in their lives.” While you are correct, 78 percent of those surveyed stated that they think they are more stressed than previous generations, with more debt, a more competitive job market, and more expensive healthcare being the leading reasons why.
We asked Millennials about their fears related to their work life. On the whole, Millennials fear they will get stuck with no development opportunities (40 percent), that they will not realize their career goals (32 percent) and that they won't find a job that matches their personality (32 percent).
This stat from PEW Research says it all. Millennials are: “The first in modern era to have higher levels of student loan debt, poverty and unemployment, and lower levels of wealth and personal income than any other generation at the same stage of life.”
Strauss and Howe ascribe seven basic traits to the millennial cohort: special, sheltered, confident, team-oriented, conventional, pressured, and achieving.
Below are the top eight shortcomings that I've heard over the years and how Millennials can overcome each shortcoming in order to become influential future leaders.
All four are important to understand—because, love 'em or hate 'em, they've become an economic force.
Recent research shows that members of the Baby Boomer generation have worse health than previous generations did at the same ages—diabetes, heart disease and other chronic illnesses are more common.
Baby Boomers faced high inflation and interest rates but could access affordable housing. Gen X navigated economic uncertainty but still found reasonable property prices. Gen Y pioneered the digital economy while watching housing slip away. Gen Z inherits technological advantages but faces unprecedented housing costs.
Growing up during a period of wartime along with economic depression has caused millennials to lose their sense of youth and innocence just as the lost generation did. Along with disillusionment with their current society, both generations felt a disconnect from traditional values.
Gen X fears chaos because they're juggling everyone's needs but their own. Millennials fear wasted potential because they've spent adulthood postponing life. Gen Z fears the manner of death because they've seen too many bad ones, too young, in high definition.
The observed age pattern for daily stress was remarkably strong: stress was relatively high from age 20 through 50, followed by a precipitous decline through age 70 and beyond.
Gen X is the 'most stressed' generation but studies show they're also the toughest. It's official: People are more stressed out than ever. Technology, a wildly unpredictable economy, political division, and changing family dynamics have us all on edge, and it's doing a number on our mental health.
Whilst boomers and millennials may use the 😂 emoji, this has long since been deemed 'uncool' (or 'cheugy') by Gen Z. Instead, this has been replaced by the skull (💀) or the crying emoji (😭), dramatising the idea of 'dying with laughter'.
Here Are Seven Problems Millennials Face Today
The 70% money rule usually refers to the 70/20/10 budgeting rule, a simple guideline that splits your after-tax income into three categories: 70% for needs/living expenses, 20% for savings/investments, and 10% for debt repayment or giving. It helps you balance essential spending, building wealth, and managing debt by allocating funds for day-to-day costs (housing, food, bills), future goals (retirement, emergency fund), and debt reduction (loans, credit cards).
Based on Federal Reserve numbers, no generation has worked more than Gen Z. In the 19sixties, households worked on average about 38.
Across much of the world, it is no longer middle-aged adults who are the most miserable. Instead, young people, especially Gen Z, are reporting the highest levels of unhappiness of any age group.
Some consider millennials to be one of the heaviest generations. In the U.K., researchers found at least seven in 10 people born in the millennial generations will be overweight or obese before they reach middle age. Baby boomers only faced rates of five in 10.
Characterized by high costs of living, stagnant wages, the proliferation of student debt and a volatile job market, the turbulent financial landscape means that younger adults are grappling with harsher economic realities than those experienced by previous generations – making it harder for them to prioritize saving.
There's no single "toughest" generation, as each faces unique struggles, but Generation X (born 1965-1980) is often cited as the most stressed due to balancing work, family, and finances while facing economic uncertainty, yet they also show high resilience, while younger generations like Gen Z grapple with unprecedented housing costs and climate anxiety, making the definition of "tough" subjective and dependent on the specific challenges faced.
Millennial Characteristics: Myths vs. Reality
Donald Trump, born in June 1946, falls squarely into the Baby Boomer generation (typically 1946-1964) as one of the first individuals in that cohort, while President Joe Biden, born in 1942, is a member of the preceding Silent Generation (roughly 1928-1946). Trump's birth year places him at the very beginning of the Baby Boom era, making him a Boomer, not Silent Generation.