Steven Bartlett is wrong: gen Z might be the most resilient generation yet

Social media has gained somewhat bloodsucking traction in the last decade, but it’s easy to forget that gen Z are all younger than Google; they can’t recall or envisage a world without social media platforms. So, when you hear that members of gen Z are 1.4 to 2.3 times more likely to have reported mental health issues than generations before them, there are two very different inferences that you could make.

The first, which Bartlett seems to have taken for fact, is that gen Z simply can’t hack it. They’re weak and not up to muster when times get difficult. The second is that gen Z have grown up under exceptionally hard conditions and have the wherewithal to acknowledge the effects that those conditions have on them in an effort to improve conditions for those that follow them.

In either case, Bartlett’s comments do nothing to help or further the betterment of those younger than him. His podcast statements have a similar tone to ‘millennials could afford a house if they stopped eating avocado toast’: unhelpful and lacking any substance at all.

Built for uncertainty

Gen Z have had to endure some of the most critical and formative times of their lives (important steps in education and the beginning of their careers) against the backdrop of a global pandemic, yet are still successfully delivering the results needed to progress in this world. They’re not crumbling. They’re finding new ways to approach the world, work, and the problems associated with youth and early adulthood.

There’s been little certainty around gen Z’s future as far as the economic environment and the state of the planet (both areas that generations before them seem to have cared little about in comparison). Now more than ever, younger generations are seeing the damage caused by the mismanagement of their predecessors and are doing whatever it takes to reverse what they can.

Gen Z understands that there are established systems in place that need changing, the main one being the corporate 9-5 job. With evidence of people on their deathbeds wishing they worked less and lived more, is it wrong for gen Z to want to avoid burnout?

Masters of work life balance

A fine-tuned work life balance allows people, regardless of age, to reset and recharge by spending their personal time doing what brings them joy. Gen Z don't want to go to bed every night thinking about work. And when it's time to get back to it, they're able to put their best foot forward and take on the day, which they might not be able to do if not given autonomy on how to spend their time. Gen Z works to live, and everyone else should too.

From speaking to other gen Z workers in the industry, we know that people aren’t applying for jobs where they lack presenting actual benefits. We say ‘actual’ because companies think that throwing a few bean bags on the floor of a trendy office is the epitome of an exceptional company culture.

Benefits aren’t bare minimums, they're flexible hours, trust, genuine interest in employees' wellbeing, and a decent bloody salary. We don’t mind being called lazy or snowflakes for not working ourselves to the bone and spending quality time being present with those that we love and care for. If we’re doing great work, does it really matter how, when, or where we’re doing it?