Sign up for our newsletter: “From A to Gen Z.” This biweekly email will put the biggest headlines about Gen Alpha, Gen Z and millennials into context to help readers better understand these key generations.
Welcome to Morning Consult’s From A to Gen Z newsletter. We put the headlines you’re reading about Gen Alpha, Gen Z and millennials into context with our high-frequency survey data to help you better understand exactly how and why they’re spending their time — and their dollars.
The latest edition of our flagship State of Workers report, published last week, explores how a frozen job market, artificial intelligence, political disruption, and more are shaping Americans' feelings about work. Today, we’re leveraging this data to take a deep dive into the feelings of young workers specifically, which are, by and large, more negative than their older counterparts.
🥱Young workers are especially burnt out and unsatisfied🥱
More than one-third of employed adults say they “always” or “often” feel too tired after work to enjoy their personal lives, which has gone up three points year-over-year, a statistically significant increase. But Gen Z and millennial workers — two groups who came into their careers either during a recession or during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic — are much more likely to report fatigue than Gen Xers and baby boomers.
In addition to burnout, workplaces continue to have a big Gen Z engagement and job satisfaction problem. Only 32% of Gen Z report being “very engaged” when working, and that share lags greatly behind those reported by Gen Z’s older counterparts: millennials (47%), Gen Xers (51%), and baby boomers (57%).
▶️ Check out the full State of Workers 2025 report here.
🧑💻All about AI🧑💻
The use of artificial intelligence in the workplace is on the rise, and young employees are leading the way. Millennials, along with those with post-grad degrees and salaried workers, continue to be the biggest users of AI at work, and all of these groups saw almost double-digit growth between 2024 and 2025.
While young people are typically always at the forefront of technology adoption, even those less likely to embrace new methods — like older workers — saw increases in AI use between last year and this year. This broad growth is reflective of the aggressive push that companies have put behind investing in AI in the workplace.
Broadly speaking, more people think that AI will be a force of good in the workplace than not (37% versus 34%, respectively), with young people and those with higher educations being more likely to hold the same opinions.
▶️ To learn more about the data that powers this research, reach out to your Morning Consult contact or email [email protected].
☹️Young workers are bracing for layoffs☹️
Amid a largely frozen job market, a good chunk of workers are expecting layoffs at their current companies — and this belief is being driven by younger people. Nearly half of both Gen Z and millennials say it’s likely that their employers will lay off workers within the next six months.
Looking at workers across different sectors, those in the tech industry are most likely to expect layoffs, and most confident that their own jobs are safe. Though the tech industry has faced major headwinds in recent years, culminating with very high-profile, high-volume layoffs, workers in the sector may have strong belief in the continued marketability of their skills even in a weaker market.
▶️ To check out more worker and consumer trends, head here.
What Else We’re Reading
- Gen Alpha's Most Asked-For Brands (Morning Consult)
- How Different Generations Are Hearing About and Reacting to Tariffs (Morning Consult)
- Pinterest is prompting teens to close the app at school (The Verge)
- Instagram launches Edits app for video, rivaling TikTok (CNBC)
Upcoming
April 30 — Report: Corporate Engagement 2025. This report explores how a turbulent first 100 days of the second Trump presidency hasn’t translated into an increased appetite among Americans for corporate engagement, vindicating the relatively low-profile approach to politics that we’ve seen from brands so far during this stage of the Trump era.
May 6 — Memo: Gen Z’s Approach to Healthy Eating. This analysis will look at what health-conscious food choices Gen Zers are making, as well as how and why they’re making them. Once published, you can find it here.
Ellyn Briggs is a brands analyst on the Industry Intelligence team, where she conducts research, authors analyst notes and advises brand and marketing leaders on how to apply insights to make better business decisions. Prior to joining Morning Consult, Ellyn worked as a market researcher and brand strategist in both agency and in-house settings. She graduated from American University with a bachelor’s degree in finance. For speaking opportunities and booking requests, please email [email protected].