Survey by CNBC/Generation Lab Reveals Gen Z and Millennials Struggle More with 'Adulting' Compared to Their Parents

A CNBC/Generation Lab survey indicates that Gen Z and millennials find it tougher to handle typical adult responsibilities than their parents did, highlighting generational challenges in managing everyday adult tasks.

KEY POINTS

• Gen Z and millennials struggle to reach key milestones that their parents achieved early in their careers, like securing jobs, advancing in their roles, or purchasing homes.
• "This reflects the current perceptions young people have of their lives compared to their parents," states Cyrus Beschloss, founder of Generation Lab.
• Despite these challenges not necessarily offering stability to buy a house, there are still some "glimmers of optimism" evident.

Gen Z and millennial adults are struggling more than their parents to reach key career and financial milestones when starting their careers. According to a CNBC and Generation Lab's Youth & Money in the USA poll, 55% of young adults say buying a home is "much harder," 44% find it harder to secure a job, and 55% believe getting promoted is more challenging. The survey, conducted from October 25 to October 30, involved 1,039 participants aged 18 to 34 from across the U.S.

Cyrus Beschloss, founder of Generation Lab, explains, "This survey merely reflects young people's views on how their experiences compare to their parents'." Generation Lab boasts the largest database of young respondents in America.

The poll reveals that 40% of Gen Zers and millennials believe they have better chances of finding economic opportunities outside traditional employment paths. Blair duQuesnay, a certified financial planner and lead advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management in New Orleans, noted that the nature of work had been evolving even before the Covid-19 pandemic. She explained that unlike the baby-boom generation, which often remained in a single job at a corporation throughout their careers and retired with a pension, such career paths are no longer typical.

DuQuesnay, who is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council, pointed out that while these new opportunities might not provide the stability needed to purchase a home, they do offer some "glimmers of optimism" in a time marked by general pessimism about national and global conditions, according to Cyrus Beschloss.

‘Glimmers of optimism’

According to the Youth & Money in the USA poll, about 50% of respondents believe that inflation will very negatively impact their future financial well-being. This concern may be influenced by the current economic environment.

Douglas A. Boneparth, a Certified Financial Planner and president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York, noted that inflation has been a dominant topic in the media for the past year. "We are bombarded with headlines about inflation, and we see inflation when we check out at the grocery store," he stated.

Despite these concerns, Cyrus Beschloss from Generation Lab sees a silver lining, mentioning that there is "hope in this data."

The report discovered that 65% of Gen Zers and millennials are not postponing major life decisions like marriage, starting a family, or buying a home due to student loan debt.

Blair duQuesnay finds it encouraging that 68% of the respondents report having less than $20,000 in total outstanding debt, including credit cards and student loans. Additionally, despite common assumptions, a significant portion, 43%, of younger workers feel quite loyal to their employers.

Cyrus Beschloss commented on the prevailing stereotypes, saying, "We have this perception of the Gen Z worker sort of cynically trudging into work, cashing the paycheck so they can have a good quality of life and ‘quiet quit’ and do all these other things."

DuQuesnay pointed out that the unexpected loyalty observed among younger workers indicates that employers "have gone out of their way to increase employee morale," which might explain the positive trend.

Gen Z, millennials and the stock market

A majority of young respondents, 63%, view the stock market as a viable means for wealth accumulation and investment, according to the poll. However, as Cyrus Beschloss points out, due to their experiences of financial instability caused by significant economic disruptions, 37% of Gen Zers and millennials hold a contrary view.

Beschloss suggests that the distrust among younger adults towards the stock market may stem from their formative experiences during economic crises, which left a deep impact on their confidence in financial markets.

Blair duQuesnay noted the long-lasting effects of witnessing the 2008 financial crisis during childhood, saying, "Experiencing the financial crisis in 2008 as a child is probably a very formative experience. I’ve spoken to Gen Z investors who remember their parents losing their job or losing their house." This background shapes their perceptions and attitudes towards investing.

Douglas A. Boneparth, a CNBC FA Council member, highlighted the emergence of cryptocurrency as an alternative to traditional financial systems, positioning it as a way for younger generations to "opt-out" of conventional economic structures.

Blair duQuesnay added that for younger investors, it will take time to witness the benefits of compounded returns in the stock market. She noted that those who started investing in 2021 might have seen their initial gains wiped out by the bear market in 2022, emphasizing the need for patience and a long-term perspective in investing.

Source: cnbc