Hello everyone and welcome to our newsletter on all things Gen Z.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

It’s Holly writing to you here today, as Kamal enjoys a well-earned break on holiday. I’m told through the grapevine that the London office isn’t the same without him, which I’m sure it isn't. But I can’t properly fact-check this information as I’m working out of our New York office this week, cooking up exciting things for the months to come. 👀 

Perhaps it’s just summer in the air, but the tone of the newsletter this week feels rather hopeful: from exploring how Gen Z are turning nihilism into optimism, to hearing how managers can help bridge the gap for young people who entered the workforce during COVID. If you’re feeling this buoyancy too, you might be interested in #hopecore (more on that below) …

Enjoy!

Working in harmony

I liked the tone of this article in the FT about not pinning all our workplace problems on Gen Z. We’ve always been against the whole pitting generations against each other thing, and this piece encourages managers to be proactive in helping bridge the gap for young people who entered the workforce during, or just after, the pandemic. Read on for practical suggestions like working in collaboration rooms, organising a happy hour or starting sports leagues.

Invested in FOMO

Are young people interested in investing? New research shows that 40% of Gen Zers are driven to invest by FOMO (fear of missing out). That stat climbs to 60% when you look at Gen Z in China, and such ‘fear’ is encouraging young people to start young when it comes to investing - over 80% of Gen Zers in the US and UK began investing before the age of 21. The core things to know beyond age are their key motivations (saving for the future and wanting extra cash now) and how they learn about investing (social media, obvs). There’s plenty more there and this piece is well worth a read.

Jeans and a nice top

If you ask anyone what they’re wearing for a night out, you’d be right to assume their answer as “jeans and a nice top”. But the fail-proof formula is getting a Gen Z upgrade: enter "fun pants and a tank top”. There’s not much explanation needed here, except for the fact that trousers are outshining tops as the main event, which explains why you may have noticed a resurgence in cargos and other baggies. Not convinced? This TikTok declaring the death of jeans and a nice top currently has 4.9 million views.

#Hopecore

One of the biggest complaints about social media over the years has been around doom scrolling - AKA being bombarded with negative news stories and sensationalist content. But young people are invested in altering the tone, as we see in the #hopecore trend. It’s all about striving for radical optimism to counteract the nihilistic content that increased during the Trump era.

And finally…

18%

Of Gen Z identifies as LGBTQ+, compared to 10% of Millennials. The study, which collected information from more than 20,000 people across 30 countries, also found that Gen Xers are four times less likely to come out than Gen Zers.

Have a lovely weekend everyone - I’m sure Kamal will be thrilled to be back here next week!

How can we help?

In my many travels and conversations, I’m increasingly talking to CEOs, executives and civil society leaders wanting to better understand the next generation of consumers and the next generation of employees. Gen Z is putting pressure on us all to transform in fascinating ways, and many of us are asking questions about how to cater for younger workers and future proof our organisations.

If this sounds like you, we’d be keen to have a chat and see if TNM can help. From our own content production to work we have done, for example, with The Oliver Wyman Forum, we have a raft of insights and data which can support you. We work closely with a number of global organisations – helping with high-impact story-telling, digital media, internal communications, through to employee benefits, HR and working structures.

Email me direct and all of us at TNM look forward to speaking further.

Kamal Ahmed
Editor-in-Chief and Co-founder
The News Movement