Aside from criticism, Generation Z faces two major problems. On the one hand, rents are becoming more and more expensive and on the other hand, people no longer want to take on any job to earn money. And that is especially not a good thing for older generations who rely on their own path in life.
The current situation is not particularly easy for many people. But Generation Z is particularly affected, many of whom are currently starting their careers or looking for their own apartment.
Generation Z refers to men and women who were born between 1996 and 2012.
The first problem: rapidly rising rental prices
What is the current situation? In Germany, rents have been rising sharply for several months and even the rent cap prescribed by the federal government has not been able to prevent this.
The Tagesspiegel, for example, writes that in 2009 you still had to pay 5.60 euros per square meter for an apartment in Berlin. 14 years later (2023) the prices have more than doubled to 11.90 euros. And rents have also risen similarly in other German cities. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, rents in Germany are said to have increased by almost 6% (via Deutschlandfunk.de).
What’s the problem for Gen Z? Young people who are now looking for an apartment are faced with the big problem that they can hardly afford the prices anymore. The Spanish website Genbeta gives a Spanish example: Today, a room in a shared apartment in Madrid costs half of what you could have bought a whole house for a few years ago. Young people also lack the opportunity to take out a mortgage. In addition, Gen Z spent a lot of money, especially during Corona, and now has to pay high interest rates for their standard of living.
For this reason, even large consulting firms such as Ernst & Young are now coming forward, saying: Measures are urgently needed for young people so that they have access to living space and, above all, can still pay their rent. Because that is exactly what creates inequality, which then leads to the generational conflict that we currently have.
The second problem: Not every job, no matter the price
The current situation may be difficult at the moment, but that doesn’t persuade many young people to simply accept any job. You have certain principles and you want to stick to them, even if you earn little or no money. It was recently discovered that many of Gen Z are not interested in an office career but are interested in crafts.
What’s the problem? This is where the derogatory comment from older generations follows: Yes, back then we had to take on every kind of job and work to make ends meet and Gen Z doesn’t want that. But Generation Z grew up in a completely different environment than previous generations.
Because Generation Z grew up with modern labor and human rights. And she knows from the recent past that working long hours rarely makes you the owner of a company, but rather serves to line the pockets of bosses and investors in large companies.
That’s why young people value working environments that respect working hours and even more flexible workplaces that enable each individual to fulfill their tasks without rigid time or space requirements: Generation Z is now finally finding a reason to move from home to the office to go