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

first up

Welcome back! This week, we’re diving into the nuances of burnout.

Global interest in the term “burnout” peaked in 2021. At the time, millennials and working-age Gen Zers in the US reported the highest levels of burnout among the different age groups. 

Fast-forward to today, Gen Z’s reported burnout rates still exceed those of older workers, according to the latest research from the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI). And that’s not just in the US—the data includes 30,000 people across 30 countries.

By now, most of us are familiar with the idea of burnout, defined as a chronic imbalance between your job demands and your job resources and characterized by extreme tiredness, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty with cognitive and emotional processes. But there’s more to the story: holistic health, which includes physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being, is also a central ingredient for employee happiness. Experiencing positive holistic health in some areas doesn’t mean the absence of burnout symptoms, by the way. While the two are negatively correlated, they can coexist. 

McKinsey senior partner Drew Ungerman and MHI coleaders found that people who have positive work experiences report better holistic health and that good holistic health is most strongly predicted by “workplace enablers” (such as self-efficacy, or the idea that employees have confidence and control over their work). Burnout is strongly predicted by unrelenting demands, while enablers help offset those challenges. 

The good news is that there are many ways to address burnout at the job, team, and organizational level. For Gen Zers suffering from burnout, one solution is to get involved in “customizing their job.” This approach has become a strong way to motivate employees, build their skill set, and help them find meaning in the work they do.

Crafting a job to be more personally fulfilling includes asking a few questions, such as “What elements of my job could I tweak to be more meaningful and impactful?” or “Can what I currently do be done differently?” 

It’s also possible that Gen Zers are conflating workplace boredom with burnout. The two present similar symptoms (such as feeling totally disconnected from your work). So-called Zoom fatigue, for instance, has less to do with being exhausted from endless, back-to-back virtual meetings than it does with being understimulated during those meetings, new research has found. 

Combatting “boreout,” just as with burnout, requires employees and employers to work together to make work more meaningful. As McKinsey partner Erica Coe puts it in an episode of The McKinsey Podcast: “Where we often get burnout wrong is assuming that it is purely an individual experience…. Starting to pay attention to the systemic issues and really getting into some of the root causes will be what’s needed to unlock real change here.”

VISUALIZE IT

“Alternative seafood,” or substitutes for popular fish and shellfish such as tuna, salmon, and shrimp, offers one way to help sustainably scale seafood farming.

WAIT, DON’T SCROLL

Operation recruitment. Half of young people in the US say they know “little to nothing” about military service and its professional-development offerings.

Alta moda. An Italian luxury fashion brand CEO explains why Gen Z should rethink its approach to trend chasing.

Sustainability natives. Can the Nordics become the “Silicon Valley of sustainability”?

NOT US; STILL GREAT

Expat stats. One in four Gen Z Americans wants to move to a different country, citing better access to healthcare and social services as the reason for doing so. [Thrillist]

Tardy for the party. Gen Zers are missing deadlines despite working late. Good managers can help. [Bloomberg]

CROSSWORD

— Edited by Alexandra Mondalek, editor, New York

Thanks for reading Mind The Gap. We’ll be off next week and back in your inbox on December 5.