- Gen Z expects more out of their employers than previous generations.
- 65% said that workplaces should provide financial wellness resources for employees.
- Among older generations, half agreed that companies should provide financial training.
Generation Z, who are ages 25 to 40 and make up a quarter of the US workforce, have been reshaping what people expect from their employers. Now, they're looking for jobs to include financial wellness training as an added benefit.
65% of Gen Z said that employers have a responsibility to help their workers attain and improve their financial wellness, according to a new study by the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA), a financial services provider. Older generations are split on the subject, with half of all respondents saying the same.
Given that Gen Z reported less financial stability than older cohorts during the pandemic, it makes sense that they would turn to an authority to help them avoid the financial plights of millennials, their slightly older peers. Millennials survived two recessions, are hobbled by massive debt, and were shut out of the housing market for years. Gen Z is faring better overall, but that's likely to change as more of its members age into adulthood.
"It's no surprise that younger people who are just starting are in a fragile financial situation and dealing with the rising cost of living, rent payments, student loan debt, and more," Snezana Zlatar, a senior managing director at TIAA, told Insider.
Still into their careers, Gen Z wants access to programs that focus on issues like retirement, debt management, budgeting, emergency savings, and health care cost management, Zlatar said. TIAA's research shows that such initiatives are effective. The desire for this training — especially in comparison to older workers — highlights that Gen Z hasn't been settling for less when it comes to work as they've entered the labor market seeking higher pay, remote options, and a better work-life balance. It also underscores the financial crises they've observed — and are trying to avoid — from older generations. The only problem is that employers don't necessarily agree that it's their responsibility to help.
The pandemic made more Americans aware of their financial health, and Gen Z wants to improve theirs
The report showed that in the past two years, Americans have scrutinized their own finances more closely, as data shows that people's finances became more precarious. According to TIAA's researchers, 51% of all Americans are more aware now of their overall financial health than before the pandemic, with 39% changing their definition of financial wellness since then. Three in 10 people prioritized having an emergency fund more than before.
When it comes to the efficacy of financial wellness programs, Gen Z may be onto something. The report found that workers who have participated in a wellness program are twice as likely to have a high financial wellness rating than those who are not offered resources or who do not participate, 32% vs. 15%.
But only half of workers receive financial wellness resources from their employers, and only half of employers said that they felt responsible to ensure their employees' financial wellness.
Gen Z wants more from their employers, and more for their financial futures
Alongside millennials, Gen Z left their jobs in droves last year, with 65% of Gen Z looking to join "the Great Resignation" in 2022. In August, a study by Personal Capital and The Harris Poll found that two-thirds of Americans wanted new jobs. The majority of Gen Zers agreed (91%), as well as more than a quarter of millennials.
The youngest workers report wanting a sense of purpose from their new jobs, more affordable places to live and work, permanent remote options, and more mental health days. This may be at least partially spurred by the pandemic. Gallup reported that it impacted younger workers' careers more negatively in 2020 than older workers', experiencing more stress, anger, and lower employee engagement.
And when it comes to their financial wellness, Gen Z also has millennials in the rearview as more of them begin to come of age, as many of their older peers are hobbled by student debt and living paycheck-to-paycheck.