Gen Z is not feeling great about mental health, study finds

It’s nice to be getting back to some normalcy and moving on from COVID, but the pandemic has not been officially declared over and we are only now learning of some longer-term effects.

Case in point is a new study from Harmony Healthcare IT, which says 3 in 4 Gen Zers say the pandemic has negatively impacted their mental health – this is on top of their day-to-day mental health issues.

Also, Gen Z is worried about the future. Eighty-five percent of Gen Z feels their generation has not been set up for success, and half don’t feel ready to join the workforce. Seventy-five percent feel they have a disadvantage compared to other generations.

Other findings include:

• Nearly 2 in 3 Gen Zers have taken a mental health day from school or work in 2022
• 15% say they’ve talked to their bosses about their mental health
• 91% of those that did, say their bosses were supportive, while 9% describe them as unsupportive

The study also reveals the majority (79%) of Gen Z thinks their generation is the best at discussing mental health, and they also feel as if their generation faces more mental health issues than other generations. A staggering 42% have a diagnosed mental health condition, a quarter have been diagnosed with a mental health condition during the pandemic and 68% feel the pandemic has negatively affected their mental health. The biggest mental health issue Gen Z deals with is anxiety. Nine out of 10 Gen Zers with diagnosed mental health conditions struggle with anxiety, and nearly 8 out of 10 (78%) are battling depression.

Read more: Retaining and recruiting Gen Z workers

Some of the biggest concerns have to do with finances and work. More than 3 in 5 (66%) do not feel financially stable. Overall, 89% of Gen Z is worried about their personal finances, and 70% are concerned about the economy.