Gen Z Isn’t Just Burned Out. They’re Unhappy

The 2026 World Happiness Report reveals a finding every founder with a young team can’t afford to ignore. Researchers from the University of Oxford, in partnership with Gallup, ranked changes in happiness among people under 25, aka Gen Z, across 136 countries. The United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand ranked between 122nd and 133rd on that list.

The countries most associated with opportunity, ambition, and entrepreneurial culture are producing some of the unhappiest young people on earth, and Gen Z employees are the unhappiest group.

It’s no surprise that heavy social media use lowers life satisfaction. Passive scrolling, algorithmic feeds, and influencer content are linked to lower well-being. Surprisingly, internet activities in the areas of communication, learning, and content creation are linked to higher life satisfaction. The platform design matters as much as the usage.

For founders, this distinction is critical. Your Gen Z employees aren’t just bringing their skills to work. They’re bringing their mental state, their relationship with technology, and the emotional weight of growing up in an era that research describes “as historically difficult for young people.”

Belonging is a powerful predictor for Gen Z wellbeing.

The report found that one of the most powerful predictors of wellbeing for young people isn’t reducing screen time. It is a sense of belonging. The feeling of genuinely mattering to a group of people you spend your days with.

For founders who are building teams, this is both sobering and actionable. You cannot fix the social media environment your Gen Z employees grew up in. However, you can build a workplace that partially counteracts it — one where people feel genuinely seen, connected, and part of something.

As a PhD researcher, I’ve had the opportunity to study Gen Z with my student, Cindy Nelson, who just completed her dissertation on Gen Z in the workplace. Based on her research, she argues that “organizational leaders and HRD professionals need practical suggestions to know how to engage, retain, and develop Gen Z employees rather than just be presented with statistics about how stressed, anxious, and unhappy they may be.”