Cost-of-Living Crisis Forces Young Workers to Delay Family, Education and Business Plans — Deloitte
More than half of Gen Zs and millennials are delaying major life decisions, including starting a family, furthering their education or launching a business, as financial pressure reshapes how younger generations live, work and plan for the future.
According to the 2026 Deloitte Gen Z and Millennial Survey, 55% of Gen Zs and 52% of millennials said they had postponed major life choices because of their financial situation. Cost of living remained the top concern for both generations for the fifth consecutive year, ahead of other workplace and societal concerns.
The report found that nearly half of respondents are living paycheck to paycheck, underlining the strain that inflation, housing costs, wage pressures and economic uncertainty continue to place on younger workers.
Deloitte said 69% of Gen Zs and 64% of millennials reported that the availability or affordability of housing directly affects their career decisions and where they are able to work. This points to a labour-market reality in which housing is no longer only a welfare or urban-planning issue, but a factor shaping job mobility, productivity and career progression.
“Financial strain has become a defining feature of how these generations work, live and plan for the future,” the report said.
The findings suggest that younger workers are becoming more cautious about commitments that traditionally mark adulthood, including marriage, children, home ownership, higher education and entrepreneurship. For economies seeking to raise productivity, deepen innovation and encourage business formation, that caution carries long-term implications.
Despite the financial pressure, the survey found that optimism has not disappeared entirely. About 53% of Gen Zs expect their personal financial situation to improve over the next year, compared with 45% of millennials.
The survey also reveals a changing attitude toward leadership. Consistent with last year’s findings, only 6% of Gen Zs and millennials said achieving a leadership position was their primary career goal.
Deloitte said the hesitation is driven by concerns about the trade-offs associated with leadership roles. Among those not prioritising leadership, the most common barriers were stress and burnout, cited by 50% of Gen Zs and 49% of millennials; excessive responsibility, cited by 50% of Gen Zs and 48% of millennials; and concerns about work-life balance, cited by 41% of Gen Zs and 46% of millennials.
Yet the rejection of leadership is not absolute. The report found that 76% of Gen Zs and 67% of millennials are interested in pursuing senior leadership roles at some point in their careers.
That suggests younger workers are not necessarily less ambitious. Rather, they are more selective about the conditions under which they are willing to lead.
For employers, the message is clear: leadership pipelines may weaken if senior roles continue to be associated primarily with burnout, poor work-life balance and excessive responsibility without adequate support.
The findings are particularly relevant for African economies, including Ghana, where young people are already navigating high living costs, housing pressures, graduate unemployment, informal work and uneven wage growth.
If younger workers delay family formation, education, entrepreneurship or geographic mobility because of financial insecurity, the effects could spill into fertility trends, skills development, business creation and labour-market flexibility.
The survey was based on responses from 14,384 Gen Zs, born between January 1995 and December 2007, and 8,211 millennials, born between January 1983 and December 1994. In total, 22,595 respondents were surveyed across 44 countries in North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. The online survey was conducted between November 24, 2025 and January 15, 2026.
The broader policy implication is that financial insecurity among younger generations is no longer a private household problem. It is becoming a macroeconomic and labour-market issue.
When young people delay education, delay entrepreneurship, postpone starting families or choose jobs based primarily on housing affordability, economies lose dynamism. Firms may also struggle to attract talent to high-cost cities or demanding leadership tracks.
With governments, the response must include more affordable housing, stronger wage growth, skills investment, targeted support for young entrepreneurs and labour-market policies that improve job quality. For employers, it means rethinking compensation, flexibility, career progression and leadership models.
The Deloitte survey shows that Gen Zs and millennials still want growth, purpose and advancement. But they are increasingly unwilling to sacrifice financial security and wellbeing for traditional markers of success. The result is a generation not without ambition, but one asking whether the economic system gives them enough room to build a life while building a career.
