Gen Z Would Rather Break Up With A Partner Than Have This Work Conversation, According To Study
It's never easy to break up, but Gen Z says this conversation is harder.
Raushan_films | Shutterstock For Gen Z, postgraduate life comes with a variety of challenges. Finding a job, securing a place to live, and learning how to budget and save are all responsibilities that recent graduates have to face. However, some of these challenges lie with our interpersonal development, such as learning how to have difficult conversations.
Whether it be with friends and family, or employers and co-workers, everyone has to figure out how to navigate anxiety-inducing situations. A recent study revealed that new graduates would rather deal with difficult conversations in relationships than in the workplace.
New research found that recent graduates are more stressed out negotiating salary with an employer than breaking up with a partner.
The study, conducted by Talker Research on behalf of the banking app Chime, surveyed 2,000 higher education graduates from the classes of 2024 and 2025. The survey gave participants multiple scenarios and asked which option they thought would be most stressful.
The results showed that 54% thought that negotiating salary with an employer would be more stressful than breaking up with a romantic partner, while 39% believed breaking up would be worse.
Participants consistently showed uncertainty throughout the survey about postgraduate life, as 71% claimed that they were worried about their next steps. Only 42% felt "very sure" about their plans after graduation. On the bright side, for those who had already been out of school for a year, 66% reported that their "future roadmap" went according to plan.
Participants were divided on how confident they felt about other adulthood tasks.
When asked whether filing taxes or assembling IKEA furniture was more complicated, 52% said filing taxes, and a surprising 39% said assembling IKEA furniture.
The survey also showed that "only 35% have ever created a budget and stuck to it." Additionally, an underwhelming 26% have ever written a check, and only 22% have ever balanced a checkbook. This likely comes from a lack of real-world experience and general feelings of unpreparedness.
Another study performed by Grand Canyon University supported the idea that postgrad life is believed to be significantly more challenging for recent graduates. This survey showed that "33% of people say that the college workload (academically) was difficult or very difficult, compared to 37.1% who share this sentiment about their post-grad workload (adulting)." From another perspective, the survey also revealed that "44.4% said college was emotionally challenging, compared to 56.2% who say the adult world is emotionally challenging."
In a nutshell, it's not that these young graduates are incapable, but rather that they feel unprepared for the realities of life after college. Jennifer Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop studied Gen Z's feelings of unpreparedness for life and published their findings in a recent book, "The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better." In a piece for Oprah Magazine, they explained that kids today often tie their identities to achievements and that current parenting styles and even education in general do not teach kids how to fail.
They wrote, 'The greatest gift we can give as parents is to nudge our teens toward experiences and opportunities that help them understand who they are and who they hope to be. Yes, grades and achieving are part of this. But nurturing a robust learner identity — that is, developing a sense of self separate from external accolades — is equally, if not more, important. The real goal is not the brand-name college or the perfect résumé; it’s kids feeling prepared to navigate a messy, fast-changing world."
The survey also revealed the graduates' top priorities and worries after school.
Out of all the concerns about postgraduate life, the number one priority for participants was getting a job in their field (44%). This was followed by paying off student debt (35%) and being able to pay bills every month (33%).
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At the bottom of the list were making new friends (11%) and being away from friends and family (9%). These results showed that recent graduates place more priority on becoming financially stable than on emotional comforts like creating or maintaining relationships.
Everyone's path through life will look different, and it's important to remember that it's okay to do things differently. Jeni Izuel, Vice President of the Chime Scholars Foundation, said, "There’s a lot of pressure to have a clear plan after graduation, but that’s not always realistic. Things change, and that’s normal."
Kayla Asbach is a writer currently working on her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida. She covers relationships, psychology, self-help, pop culture, and human interest topics.
