Study: Younger employees have lowest job satisfaction

A lot of employees are reevaluating careers and job prospects right now, but a recent study found that younger employees are the group with the lowest job satisfaction.

Dubbed “Zillennials,” workers between the ages of 23 and 28 are speaking up about needing a work environment that better aligns with their personal values. Over half (53%) of Zillennials reported their unfulfilling jobs are their top stressor — and if employers don’t act now, they could lose them.

MetLife conducted its annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study to get to the bottom of this. Here’s what it found.

Mental health

So why are Zillennials so dissatisfied with their jobs? The one major issue is mental health problems. Over half (53%) of Zillennials have sought mental health help in the last year, and 41% voiced complaints that their employers weren’t doing enough to help in this area. In fact, these employees reported their companies were doing only the “minimum possible” to help with stress and mental health concerns.

What will satisfy Zillennials in this area? Here are the top things they want from employers to support their mental wellbeing:

• paid and unpaid leave (74%)
• work-life management programs (67%)
• mental wellness benefits, like an employee assistance program or reimbursement for therapy (62%), and
• financial education programs (55%).

Unique benefits

Going along with mental health perks, 27% of Zillennials have left their companies for better benefits packages elsewhere.

Younger employees do want traditional benefits such as health and life insurance, but 50% of Zillennials said student loan assistance is a “must have.”

Another more nontraditional benefit younger workers want is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion resource group, which 40% called a “must have” as well.

Looking for more

Along with mental health support and great benefits, Zillennials also want to feel a sense of purpose in their work. Less than half of younger workers (46%) are willing to stay at a company that doesn’t have a clear contribution to the common good.

Additionally, 45% of Zillennials say their preferred employer needs to have a clear stance on ethical and environmental issues.

While targeting employees between the ages of 23 and 28 may seem like a small effort, the size of this group has increased by about five million employees in the last five years, and will only continue to grow.