Almost half of Gen Z feel stressed out and anxious at work most of the time, new Deloitte survey finds

• Almost half of Gen Z feel stressed and anxious at work most of the time, a Deloitte survey finds.
• The survey found that Gen Z and millennials feel exhausted and lack energy in the workplace.

Gen Z is experiencing increased stress in the workplace as inflation continues to bite, a new survey from Deloitte found.

Deloitte's 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey collected insights about work and living conditions from more than 22,000 respondents in 44 countries between November and December 2022 — 14,483 were Gen Zers and 8,373 were millennials.

The survey found that 46% of Gen Zers feel anxious and stressed out at work all or most of the time, while 39% of millennials felt the same way.

Over a third of the Gen Zers surveyed said they are exhausted or lack energy at work as well as feeling mentally distant from their job because of persistent feelings of negativity or cynicism. 42% said they're struggling to perform to their best abilities. Millennial responses were roughly the same.

The people who were most affected by stress and anxiety at work across both generations were women, LGBT+, ethnic minorities, and those with disabilities.

Part of the problem is poor work-life balance, the survey said. Flexible working policies have added to an "always-on" culture, with around 70% of Gen Z and millennials responding to business emails and messages outside of working hours at least once a week.

Opening up about mental health remains a stigma in many workplaces. Almost a third of both Gen Zers and millennials said they are not comfortable sharing their mental health challenges with their managers. And, of the third who have taken time off for mental health reasons, more than half did not inform their employer of the real reason for their absence.

Higher levels of stress amongst the younger generations can also be attributed to cost of living concerns as over half of each generation say they're still living paycheck to paycheck.

This is leading to poor optimism about the future with both generations saying it will become harder to start a family, own a home, and reach their financial goals, according to the survey.

Deloitte did not immediately respond to Insider's request for further comment about its findings.