CURATED READS FOR GEN Z—AND THEIR Z-CURIOUS COLLEAGUES

first up

Welcome back—yesterday was World Mental Health Day, but mental-health struggles affect millions worldwide every day. In Mind the Gap’s very first issue back in March, we covered McKinsey’s dive into the mental-health landscape for young people in the US, and the follow-up survey looks at their European counterparts across ten countries. 

To put it bluntly: this year’s portrait of Gen Z’s mental health is pretty grim, according to a new McKinsey Health Institute survey. Partner Erica Coe, an MHI co-leader, senior partner Martin Dewhurst, an MHI global leader, and their co-authors found that one in four young people in the US called themselves “emotionally distressed”; in Europe, one in five reported their mental health as “poor” or “very poor.” That’s by far the most of any generation of Europeans, nearly five times more than baby boomers. 

Gen Zers also reported the worst social and spiritual health of any generation in Europe—physical health was the only place they didn’t come in last.

It’s possible the higher reports of mental illness stem from Gen Z being more willing to be real about how they’re feeling. And respondents showed compassion to others struggling: the majority in every country said they would support a friend, neighbor, or close colleague in recovery from a mental-health condition.

However, that grace doesn’t extend to themselves: Gen Zers are more likely to rate struggles with mental health as a personal failing or flaw, with 47 percent of Gen Z respondents in Europe endorsing some form of self-stigma or blame.

We may be more willing to talk to our friends—including on social media, the first stop for Gen Zers struggling with mental-health worries—but are wary of consequences for talking to anyone else. 

Gen Zers from European countries may avoid talking about mental health with…    

Particular stressors for Europe’s Gen Z respondents were the climate, the war in Ukraine, and COVID-19 (look at the numbers by country here), all while the pandemic is throwing education in crisis and worker burnout is climbing.

Cheery stuff, right? The good news is that by understanding these needs, we can start to meet them—for example, if bosses know young workers won’t engage, they can take the first step. And the more we talk openly about these needs, the more we can fight the remaining stigma—and the more I’ll have of highly comforting #struggletok videos to watch to make me feel better about everything. 

VISUALIZE IT

Mental-health struggles are everyone’s concern, and everyone is helped by alleviating them—reducing unmet mental healthcare needs could add $2.55 trillion to the global economy by 2040.

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Making your space safe. Mental-health advocate Poppy Jaman explains how prioritizing “well-being capital”—what you gain when your employees feel safe—can add to the bottom line and supercharge a workplace. 

Irked by work jerks? Author Tessa West urges employees to stop stewing and speak up if they want to stop the endless cycle of toxic workplace behavior that drags everyone down.

Turn enemies into allies. Author Amy Gallo lays out eight archetypes of difficult people at work—the insecure boss, the passive-aggressive peer, the tormentor, and more—and how to build bridges instead of barriers. Which type is your current enemy (or which type are you)?

NOT US; STILL GREAT

Pal-opticon. An antidote to stress: friends. As in, knowing where your friends are. Apps that geolocate your peers in real time have become an accidental friendship staple for Gen Z. [NYT]

‘Generation COVID.’ More recent high school grads are shunning college, but some aren’t picking up jobs either—the number of 18- to 24-year-olds in the US doing “nothing” surged by over a million between 2019 and 2021, especially among young men. [Newsweek]

An imposter among us? Many Gen Zers worry they don’t have the tools needed for success; over a third of respondents in one survey said they felt they couldn’t use their existing skill set at work. [SHRM]

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On our Careers Blog, Monica, a partner in Brazil, talks about the “incredibly cool” assets she creates and the leadership that keeps her supported and growing 

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— Edited by Sarah Skinner, Gen Z curation editor, New York