The subtle art of (not) understanding Gen Z

The good news is that Gen Z is highly practical and realizes the importance of hard work—as high school seniors, they were more likely than Millennials to say that they were willing to work overtime and that work will be a central part of their lives

Gen Z was already a highly cautious generation before 2020, and they are likely to remain so for their entire lives. This also has implications for sick days and flexibility—Gen Z expects to be able to make their own choices about whether they feel well enough, or safe enough, to go to work.

Instead, Gen Z is following the path of the slow-life strategy into young adulthood, postponing marriage and children. The

Generation X is slippery and hard to define. As a small generation sandwiched between two larger ones, Gen X often defines itself not by what it is but by the ways it is not like Boomers—or not like Millennials.

Gen Z’ers themselves know they are missing out on some fun, but are also baffled that previous generations did so many adult things while so young.

There is another big caveat: Millennials are not having children at anywhere near the rate Gen X’ers and Boomers did, and Gen Z is poised to continue that trend.