How Mental Health Shapes Work, Outlook, and Community in Gen Z

Gen Z is confronting a mental health crisis that is reshaping how they work, build community, and view the world. This new report offers a window into their lived experiences, revealing how emotional well-being intersects with perceptions of fairness, belonging, and success. The findings challenge assumptions about hard work, highlighting the value of nontraditional communities, and underscores how hope is being redefined.

Key Findings

• Mental Health Challenges Define Gen Z's Daily Reality. Fatigue, depression, and emotional strain are widespread—cutting across race, gender, and background—and these struggles shape how they show up in
  work, relationships, and civic life.
• Belief in Hard Work Is Giving Way to Doubts About a Fair System. While Gen Z still values effort, growing concerns about inequality and mental health challenges make success feel increasingly out of reach.

• Belonging Is Varied, and It Lives in Nontraditional Places. More than older generations, Gen Z finds community in friend groups, online platforms, and chosen spaces rather than in religion or geographic neighborhood.

• Even Amid Overwhelming Challenges, Gen Z Still Finds Reasons to Feel Hopeful. That hope isn’t dependent on external circumstances—it comes from within, grounded in their own growth, goals, and relationships.