If adulthood is more comparable to a juggling trick, you’re definitely not the only one – especially if you’re a part of Generation X, the Millennials, or Gen Z. All three have turned these “usual” processes into different layers: “Growing up,” “Building a career,” and “Taking care of a family.” These are not your parents’ or grandparents’ processes from just a few decades ago, and one can really feel the stress.
The “sandwich generation” is perhaps the most obvious case in point. These are the individuals sandwiched between caring for parents who are getting on in years and caring for their own kids—sometimes even grown kids who return home. A woman in her position speaks of days filled with working from home, taking her husband to work, assisting her son and his partner with paperwork, and taking care of her aging mother. The pandemic only added to these demands, with more young adults returning to live at home and older parents requiring additional care.
This type of multigenerational care isn’t specific to the UK—this is happening everywhere, and the figures keep rising. Individuals are giving birth later in life, yet life expectancy rises. That places a great number of adults caring for two, and even three, generations simultaneously. Some fall into the “triple-decker sandwich” category—individuals in their 60s who are still caring for parents in their 90s as well as taking care of grandchildren. Gender roles are obvious here as well: women most often work on the more personal, more hands-on care, whereas men increasingly take on practical chores such as paying the bills or keeping the house clean.
Money is the string that holds a great deal of this worry in common. Gen X, for instance, is less likely than the Baby Boomers to be a homeowner or have a stable retirement strategy at the same point in their lives. They have more of their assets in some of these retirement accounts, but they also have higher levels of debt, including large balances on student loans, and lower median net worth. Even Millennials face more challenging circumstances, with lower rates of homeownership and more debt. For Black and poorer Millennials, the weight of student loan debt has been particularly burdensome.
Gen Z, on the other hand, is confronting what some researchers describe as a “midlife crisis” in their twenties. Approximately 38 percent of Gen Z adults report feeling as though they’re already going through a midlife crisis, driven by uncertain finances, mental illness, and career confusion. The stress is so high that a large number of young employees are losing the equivalent of one workday every week to mental illness. They’re also substantially more likely to suffer from depression than their older colleagues. Others have resorted to “doom spending”—retail therapy as a coping mechanism—which only exacerbates financial stress.
Mental health issues, however, are not unique to the youngest adults. Gen X women, in general, experience a special type of midlife stress. Many grew up in the 1970s and 1980s with the notion that they could “have it all”—the career, the family, and the ideal home. But what often hasn’t been the case is that reality hasn’t lived up to that vision. As author Ada Calhoun has noted, countless women in their forties and fifties feel frustration, shame, or disappointment, even if they’ve achieved much of what they planned. Social media exacerbates these emotions, provoking comparisons and intensifying the feeling of not being good enough.
Altering of cultural values over the span of several generations is also true. Gen X was best known for their practical approach to things, being suspicious about everything, and being overly preoccupied with security. Through their life in a period of economic insecurity and radical technological changes, they had no other choice but to harden and seek stability with a hunger for it. Being the “sandwich generation” is a term that better describes their commitment to family and taking care of others. On the other hand, Millennials and Gen Z are more vocal when it comes to diversity, equity, inclusion, and adaptability in the workplace. They wish that their work reflected their values and that the employers cared for their personal health as well as their professional growth.
The changes requested by these demands are also felt inside the workplace. It is an example of Gen Z, who not only learns about salary but also want other things such as ethical employers, flexibility, mental health strategies, etc. The situation goes like this: when the needs remain unaddressed, stress escalates, motivation lessens, and turnover rises. A few companies realize that they can equally offer their staff flexibility and financial well-being and work on creating a win-win situation with them, yet the majority still have a long way to go before they can catch up.
Changes like these indeed come with their ups and downs; nevertheless, adaptability and resilience are among the key factors that one must never lose sight of. For instance, if it so happens that you are taking care of a person, under financial pressure, and the only successful thing you can think of is turning your life upside down, you still need to be adaptable. Being supported by your employer, family, and community can offer you a lot of comfort and relief right in the middle of the mayhem. At times, the troubles may seem insurmountable, and yet, by understanding the processes that are transforming adult life nowadays – and being there for each other through it all – we can turn to strength, development, and even happiness.