{"id":723,"date":"2026-06-04T19:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T19:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=723"},"modified":"2026-06-04T19:40:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T19:40:00","slug":"gen-zers-are-more-disconnected-and-distrustful-of-coworkers-than-their-older-colleagues-and-theyre-so-lonely-theyre-taking-days-off-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=723","title":{"rendered":"Gen Zers are more disconnected and distrustful of coworkers than their older colleagues\u2014and they\u2019re so lonely they\u2019re taking days off work"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gen Z employees are the least connected among all generations in the workplace, according to a from Workday. And the isolation crisis is so bad that they\u2019re 12 times more likely to feel completely disconnected from their colleagues compared to their Gen X coworkers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more 10,000 Boomers a day, $39 trillion in debt, and no benefit cuts: Bessent stakes Social Security on the Trump economy<\/a><\/p>\n

In fact, Gen Z professionals are 16 times more likely to say they don\u2019t trust their coworkers, compared to Gen X employees, according to the Workday report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Even when they do talk with colleagues, the chit-chat is limited to to-do lists and deadlines. More than four in 10 Gen Z staffers rarely or never have conversations with coworkers about anything other than work-related topics. And it\u2019s sowing distrust among the youngest working cohort.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re living in a world where we\u2019re hyper-connected online and yet experiencing high rates of loneliness and anxiety. Gen Z might simply be feeling this mismatch most acutely,\u201d Carrie Varoquiers, chief impact officer at Workday, tells Fortune. <\/em>\u201cThey\u2019ve grown up with powerful digital tools, including social media, and now they may be in the type of work environments that they feel don\u2019t give them many opportunities for meaningful connection.<\/p>\n

Gen Z aren\u2019t talking to older colleagues, but it\u2019s only further distancing them from their peers<\/h2>\n

Over a third of the Gen Zers surveyed said they don\u2019t have colleagues that they can trust enough to speak with about personal issues. However, it\u2019s not for a lack of trying\u2014the study suggests their workplace integration dilemma may be largely out of their control.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many digital natives started their careers during the pandemic, clocking in from the couch instead of learning the ropes in the office. Without that early practice, it\u2019s more difficult to acclimate to a post-COVID work environment different from that of their parents\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWithout the in-office rituals older colleagues learned from (think: shadowing a manager, overhearing how a deal gets done, or casually chatting after a meeting), Gen Zers are still working through how to lean on their colleagues and build shared trust,\u201d the Workday says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gen Z\u2019s disconnect from the workplace is not only hurting their mental health\u2014it\u2019s also inhibiting their ability to show up for the job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The young employees are nearly eight times as likely as Gen X to feel lonely at work, with one in five reporting feeling lonely on the job often or very often. And they\u2019re much more prone to point to AI as a reason for their social struggles, as opposed to their older colleagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Currently, 39% of Gen Z staffers find it difficult to make friends on the job; to cope with their lack of belonging, a fifth have taken time off due to loneliness or isolation within the past year.<\/p>\n

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Gen Z\u2019s isolation is hurting their careers in a post-pandemic job environment\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Gen Zers have picked up a bad rap at work, branded a \u201clazy\u201d generation of employees who love to log in from the couch, embracing casual dress codes, and pushing back against work after 5 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some bosses have already called it quits on the cohort, with six in 10 employers having fired a Gen Z worker they hired right out of college, according to a 2024 report from Intelligent.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more AI is primarily a blue state problem, and Democrats have the most to lose amid brewing voter \u2018techlash\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

However, some business leaders are calling out the unique circumstances Gen Z are up against.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NYU professor Suzy Welch says it\u2019s no wonder why the young generation is stereotyped as \u201clazy\u201d\u2014they\u2019ve lost sight of economic security, with little hope they could ever earn as much as their parents. Now, housing prices have far outpaced salary gains, cost of living is skyrocketing, promotions are scarce, and AI continues to upend high-paying career paths.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Multimillionaire podcaster Mel Robbins echoed that older generations wouldn\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to navigate adulthood in the 2025, with homeownership being \u201cout of reach,\u201d the generational wealth gap widening, and student loan debt piling up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world is in chaos\u2014and most twentysomethings had parents that lived in a very predictable, stable economy,\u201d Robbins said in a TikTok video last year. \u201cThey went to a corporate job, they reported to the office, they had a network of friends at work. That\u2019s not the typical 20-year-old experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re now in the middle of a recession, in hybrid work. The world is shifting, the landscape is shifting,\u201d she continued. \u201cIf you feel lost, I\u2019m not surprised. This is exactly how you should feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, college may not even be setting its students up for success. Only 8% of hiring professionals thought that Gen Z is prepared for the workplace, according to a 2025 report from Criteria which surveyed more than 350 managers across small and large enterprises. And they\u2019re not the only ones doubtful that new graduates are ready to launch their white-collar careers\u2014even the young talent were skeptical of their own readiness. Less than a quarter of Gen Z said their generation is prepared to begin working.<\/p>\n

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Gen Z\u2019s lack of social connection outside of the office could also be bleeding into their professional lives, according to one New York University professor. Tessa West, who teaches psychology at the college, found that Gen Zers without romantic lives aren\u2019t engaging in the life skills they need to succeed in the modern office. By not dealing with social friction and relationship mediation that comes with dating, they\u2019re ill-equipped to face challenges at work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat seemed like an obvious norm before, how to talk to the boss, what time you need to show up,\u201d West told Fortune<\/em> earlier this year, \u201cthis younger generation doesn\u2019t have ground rules for.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Varoquiers calls on bosses to stop turning a blind eye to Gen Z employees and be part of the change. The Workday executive recommends using AI to remove friction from everyday work life, while being careful not to stifle office relationships. And by freeing up more time from those tech efficiencies, employers have a window to thoughtfully strengthen relational skills among their staffers. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor leaders, I think it\u2019s important to listen to what Gen Z is telling us about the modern workplace,\u201d Varoquiers continues. \u201cIt should be part of every leader\u2019s job to protect time for mentoring, cross-generational collaboration, and real conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more This NYC bar just covered everyone\u2019s tabs because the Knicks won, and used Kalshi to hedge their bets<\/a><\/p>\n

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Thanks to the pandemic, Gen Z workers missed out on the \u201cin-office rituals\u201d\u2014and now they\u2019re so isolated it\u2019s hurting their careers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gen-z"],"yoast_head":"\nGen Zers are more disconnected and distrustful of coworkers than their older colleagues\u2014and they\u2019re so lonely they\u2019re taking days off work - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=723\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gen Zers are more disconnected and distrustful of coworkers than their older colleagues\u2014and they\u2019re so lonely they\u2019re taking days off work - 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