Broke Gen Zs turn down jobs — claim they can’t afford commute or work clothes: report

Work isn’t working for the cool kids. 

Owing to the high cost of living and the mental health pressures of the rat race, would-be workers in their 20s are forgoing jobs because they can neither afford daily transportation nor proper in-office attire, per a recent report. 

“Young people are finding themselves in a vicious cycle,” Jonathan Townsend, UK chief executive of the Prince’s Trust, said in its annual NatWest Youth Index 2024. 

“Poor mental health is having a negative impact on their work, and yet being unemployed has a negative impact on their mental health,” he added. “This is a deeply concerning trap.”

Researchers surveyed over 2,000 Zoomers, young adults ranging in age from 16 to 25, to find that the one in ten whipper-snappers within the demographic have walked away from employment opportunities due to commuting costs or the price of job-required uniforms. 

A staggering 60% of Gen Z women and 45% of their male counterparts worry that the soaring cost of living will keep them from achieving financial security. 

But the twenty-somethings aren’t just hurting financially. 

The investigators also determined that the troubling economic climate, which is impeding Gen Z’s job hunt, is having “drastic consequences” on their “confidence, well-being, and aspirations for the future.”

It’s a pessimistic outlook with problematic outcomes. 

Feeling as though the weight of the world’s issues — inflation, climate change, social injustice and more — are on their shoulders, “burned out” Gen Zs are missing one work day every week due to their mental health, according to disturbing data from Vitality, a health and life insurance imprint. 

A separate February study showed that Gen Zers are much more likely to take a “mental health day” off from their 9-to-5s than millennials and Gen Xers over age 40. 

“Youth worklessness due to ill health is a real and growing trend,” said an analyst from Resolution Foundation, an economic and social policy hub in the UK. “In the past decade, the number of young people aged 18 to 24 who were out of work due to ill health has more than doubled, rising from 93,000 to 190,000.”

The sickening cycle is keeping broke, unemployed youngsters depressed. 

The NatWest Youth Index found that mental health issues have dissuaded 18% of Gen Zs from applying for a job, caused 12% to forfeit interviews and stopped 10% from asking for help with their CV or cover letters. 

But an optimistic Townsend says there is “a clear window of hope” for the “endlessly resilient and dedicated generation.”

The study revealed that, despite their money and mental health woes, a staggering 68% of Gen Zs are “determined to achieve their life goals” by landing stable jobs. However, to nab those prime positions, 32% said systematic help securing work experience or training would aid them towards their ambitions. 

Many have also turned to TikTok for moral support from members of their generation. 

“The overwhelming majority of young people tell us that they remain determined to achieve their goals,” said Townsend. “But what they require is practical, pragmatic support to overcome their challenges, particularly as the world of work continues to rapidly change.”

“If we act now, with the support of partners like NatWest, employers, and government,” he continued, “we can help young people on their pathway to work and ultimately to more stable and fulfilling lives.”

“This will benefit not only this generation but wider society and the future economy for decades to come.”