According to our research, millennials are the most educated generation in American history. Approximately 38 percent of millennials have a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 32 percent of Generation X and 15 percent of baby boomers when they were the same age.
Generation Z students are on track to become the most educated generation. They have higher high school graduation rates and lower dropout rates than those who came before. In 2018, 57% of 18 to 21-year olds were in college, compared with 52% of Millennials, and 43% of Gen Xers at similar ages.
Millennial Education and the Workplace
Millennials are the most educated generation ever.
A CM Group consumer research effort that polled 1,000 consumers found Gen Z consumers are better educated, more practical, more ambitious and more skeptical than Millennials.
Such changes will continue as Generation Z, also known as the iGeneration, Post-Millennials or the Homeland Generation, come on the scene. Generation Z, the most technologically advanced group to date, could soon be introducing some changes of their own.
Gen Z is also the smartest and best educated generation. Having an unlimited wealth of information at our disposal has not gone to waste. In America, 57 percent of Gen Z is reported to have enrolled in a two-year or four-year college, compared to 52 percent of Millenials and 43 percent of Gen X.
According to a recent survey of 1,300 managers, three out of four agree that Gen Z is harder to work with than other generations — so much so that 65% of employers said they have to fire them more often.
Known for being creative, inclusive and tech-savvy, this generation likes a hands-on approach to learning and places a high importance on education. According to the Pew Research Center, Gen Z is the least likely to drop out of high school and the most likely to go to college, compared with older generations.
What are the values of Gen Z? Gen Z is known for being resourceful, independent learners who value diversity and inclusive culture and place a priority on well-being and mental health in the workplace.
Gen Z, the generation born after Millennials, are digital natives who have never known a world without the Internet and social media. They are constantly connected, always on the go, and extremely tech-savvy. As a result, Gen Z is often lauded for being entrepreneurial, innovative, and open-minded.
Millennials (and the kids born after them) are currently being called the “unhealthiest generation” in human history—facing diagnoses, mysterious illnesses and conditions that our ancestors or their parents never faced.
New research shows Gen Z are the most ambitious generation in the workforce and that age is a greater barrier to career advancement than ethnicity or gender.
The generation is generally defined as people born from 1901 to 1927. They were shaped by the Great Depression and were the primary generation composing the enlisted forces in World War II.
Gen Z and mental health. Regarding the stats, it's clear that Gen Z is struggling. A 2022 survey of Gen Z young adults (ages 19 through 24) found that 42% are diagnosed with a mental health condition.
Gen Z moms feel less confident.
They put more emphasis on being the "perfect mom" compared to Millennials, and they strive to reach more parenting ideals, from keeping kids busy to owning the scheduling for the entire family.
“Generationally, a larger majority of Gen Z adults do most of their work in person compared with their older counterparts, and this young cohort also shows the strongest overall preference for working in an office,” the study reads. Just shy of 90% of Gen Z workers who prefer the office cite productivity as the reason.
In the short term, Gen Z's stress is leading to ambivalence and withdrawal in their professional lives. According to 2022 data from Gallup, they are the most disengaged group at work. They also report more overall stress and work-related burnout than other cohorts.
They see themselves as extremely hardworking and enjoy a well balanced work and personal life. Gen Z employees value mental health and work precariously to ensure peace of mind. and retain Gen Z talent, companies must be receptive towards their needs and be more forward thinking in their approach.
Gen Z can handle stress – in fact they're brave enough to say it's unacceptable. Steven Bartlett, the entrepreneur and superstar podcaster, ruffled a few younger feathers recently when he described Gen Z as “the least resilient generation I have ever seen”.
About 59% of Gen Z are pursuing higher education, with 33% of them going for a Bachelor's degree and 26% pursuing an Associate degree or some college education.
Gen Z is a generation that has been characterized as having a notoriously short attention span. The average attention span of an individual in this demographic is said to be around 2.7 minutes, which is significantly shorter than the attention spans of previous generations.
So it's no surprise recent studies have declared millennials, especially women, the most anxious generation in history. Anxiety comes in many forms, but the simplest way to describe it is feeling worried or nervous about the future or uncertain situations.
Gen Z (42%) is about twice as likely as Americans over 25 (23%) to battle depression and feelings of hopelessness.
Gen Z also faces an unprecedented behavioral health crisis: US Gen Zers surveyed by McKinsey report the least positive outlook and the highest prevalence of mental illness of any generation, and European respondents report struggling with self-stigma.