'Money's a struggle. I feel so burnt out all the time'

A hostile jobs market, a tanking economy and a culture which tells them that they simply need to hustle harder to be their own brand Gen Z is feeling disenfranchised.

- Kate Wills

GEORGIE PRYCE-GREENE always thought she’d go to university. Instead, the 23-year-old from south-east London has deferred her place. She is now living at home and working as a content creator. “I reckon I feel burnt out every couple of weeks,” she says. “It’s a multitude of things but I notice that I start missing deadlines or forgetting stuff and feeling overwhelmed. I wanted to have that uni experience but in reality it was just 30 people on a Zoom lecture getting eye strain and paying nine grand for the privilege. I couldn’t afford to go back to studying now anyway. I think about money almost constantly and I can’t plan for the future.”

New research published today by Virgin Money has found that, although we’re all feeling the doom and gloom, young Londoners might be experiencing it more intensely than any other generation. More than 70 per cent of those surveyed said they were fearful about how the current economic climate would impact their futures. They are the most financially conscious generation by far, and most don’t have credit.

Alice Stapleton is a careers coach who works with Gen Z. She believes the under-26s have “the worst collection of stressors” of any age group — thanks to a variety of factors ranging from lack of power at work to financial instability, to the rental market crisis. A survey last year from jobs website Indeed showed Gen Z workers were reporting the highest rates of burnout.