CURATED READS ON GEN Z IN THE WORKPLACE

Welcome to the latest edition of Mind the Gap. We hope you find our perspectives useful. Let us know what you think at Alex_Panas@McKinsey.com and Axel_Karlsson@McKinsey.com.

—Alex and Axel

first up

If something about your social media feed feels familiar, you’re not imagining it. The Ice Bucket Challenge—yes, this one—is back. And this time, it’s being reimagined to raise funds for mental health causes, bringing 2014 energy to a very 2025 issue.

The updated challenge may coincide with May being Mental Health Awareness Month. But mental health has been in the zeitgeist for several years, particularly as Gen Zers come of age. As we noted in the last edition of Mind the Gap, Zoomers report worse health than other generations across all aspects, including physical and mental well-being. And Gen Zers are not shy about expressing their mental health needs. According to a recent survey, more than half of Gen Z workers said they would be willing to take a pay cut if it meant their employers prioritized mental health and well-being in the workplace. Most organizations offer some kind of well-being program, but many workers continue to feel overwhelmed.

Prioritizing employee mental health isn’t just altruistic. In addition to improving an individual’s health outcomes, it can increase employee productivity, reduce attrition, and boost the global economy. That’s particularly important for younger employees, since more than half of the mental health disease burden affects people under 40 years old, according to new analysis from McKinsey Partners Erica Coe and Kana Enomoto and coauthors.
   
This means that the sooner individuals have access to interventions for mental health conditions, the better the outcomes on health, workplace engagement, and even the broader economy. Coe, Enomoto, and their coauthors note that every dollar invested in expanding mental health interventions could generate an economic return of up to $6 in global GDP growth.

While the report focuses on improving mental health at the country level, there’s plenty to be done in the private sector as well. To help improve employee mental health, an organization’s leaders can apply what’s known as “operational excellence” to their mental health offerings. Operational excellence is a framework used to streamline an organization’s operations, build flexibility, and foster continuous organizational improvement. Its tenets have been applied to everything from higher education to biopharmaceuticals. 

Employers can take several actions to apply operational excellence to their mental health offerings. (Side note: While many of these ideas took center stage at the height of the pandemic, we also know they remain best practices today, especially as employees recalibrate to life back in the office.)

To be sure, companies can operationalize mental health, but doing so at the individual level could be more harmful than helpful. For some employees, operationalizing their well-being might feel like just another box to check during a workday already full of pings, performance goals, and pressure. Done poorly, it can make burnout worse, not better.

That’s why the real aim isn’t to systematize emotions, it’s to create the conditions that allow people to do their best work and take care of themselves while doing it.

VISUALIZE IT

By 2050, the share of a country’s population that’s older than 65 will be highest in South Korea and Japan. Globally, most older adults report wanting to live in their own homes.

WAIT, DON’T SCROLL

Trust issues. How do balance and trust affect economic outcomes?

Electric avenue. Micromobility could be worth $340 billion globally by 2030. The German model offers clues about how the sector could grow.

Nutty by nature. Included in this edition of the McKinsey on Lives & Legacies series is the forward-thinking food scientist who the Italian media dubbed “the father of Nutella.”

NOT US; STILL GREAT

Gap years. Boys are falling behind girls in school much earlier than one might think, which affects their career trajectories in adulthood. [Bloomberg]

Tween vogue. Upstart fashion brands and department stores that address 8-to-12-year-olds could be positioned for a growth spurt. [WSJ]

CROSSWORD

—Edited by Alexandra Mondalek, editor, New York