来源：《基督科学箴言报》
原文刊登日期：2023年5月30日
Scores of studies have cited concerns over COVID-19’s impact on young people’s mental health and academic development. Yet in their own voice, those graduating from American colleges and universities across this spring tell a different story. It is one of resilience, tempered optimism, and enterprising creativity.
许多研究都对疫情对年轻人心理健康和学业发展的影响表示担忧。然而，今年春天从美国高校毕业的学生们用自己的声音讲述了一个不同的故事。这是一种韧性、温和的乐观主义和进取的创造力。
“There’s a Gen Z mentality of: OK, throw it our way and we’ll make it work,” Ben Telerski, who received a degree from Georgetown University last week, told CNBC.
上周从乔治城大学获得学位的本·特勒斯基在接受CNBC采访时表示：“Z世代的心态是：好吧，把事情交给我们，我们会解决的。”
This year’s graduating class is a unique marker of an emerging generation. Some members are among the first to be born after 911. They arrived on campus before “social distancing” and “Zoom dating,” yet within six months became pioneers of remote learning. Their values have been molded by constant change and crisis. Almost nothing about them is predictable. Perhaps because of this, their concerns and aspirations are already changing workplace norms.
今年的毕业生是新兴一代的独特标志。一些成员是第一批出生在911事件之后的人。他们在“保持社交距离”和“Zoom约会”之前就进入了校园，但在六个月内就成为了远程学习的先驱。他们的价值观是在不断的变化和危机中形成的。几乎没有什么是可以预测的。也许正因为如此，他们的担忧和渴望已经在改变职场规范。
The unemployment rate for young workers is the lowest in 70 years, according to the Economic Policy Institute, yet nearly 40% of Generation Z workers already in or entering the workforce cultivate a side hustle. That partly reflects the cost of living: Most young people worry they won’t make enough in one job to make ends meet. But that’s not the only reason. Many prioritize values-based factors over salary – like diversity in the workplace, mental health benefits, and flexibility to develop creative projects they see as important to their quality of life and future well-being.
经济政策研究所的数据显示，年轻工人的失业率是70年来最低的，但近40%已经进入或即将进入劳动力市场的Z世代工人从事副业。这在一定程度上反映了生活成本危机：大多数年轻人担心一份工作挣的钱不足以维持生计。但这并不是唯一的原因。许多人优先考虑基于价值观的因素，而不是薪水——比如工作场所的多元化、心理健康福利，以及开发创造性项目的灵活性，他们认为这对他们的生活质量和未来的幸福很重要。
“Work is a source of identity for many,” Meredith Meyer Grelli, a business professor at Carnegie Mellon University, told the BBC. Gen Z workers resist that. “Passion projects,” she said, “serve as a way for young people to find value.”
卡内基梅隆大学的商学教授Grelli告诉BBC：“工作是许多人身份的来源。”。Z世代工人对此表示抵制。“激情项目，”她说，“是年轻人寻找价值的一种方式。”
That desire for creativity and spontaneity, according to a recent Wunderman Thompson Intelligence survey of young workers in the United States, Britain, and China, is driving many to give up a technology that was perhaps the single most defining influence of their early lives. It found that 67% of Gen Z members believe technology – the tool that has made their generation the most globally connected in human history – makes them feel more detached.
伟门汤普逊情报公司最近对美国、英国和中国的年轻员工进行的一项调查显示，这种对创造力和自发性的渴望，正在驱使许多人戒除一项技术，而这项技术可能在他们早年生活中最具决定性的影响。调查发现，67%的Z世代成员认为，使他们这一代人成为人类历史上全球联系最紧密的技术，让他们感到更冷漠。
“When I think of joy, wonder, magic, I think the physical world still has an advantage over the digital world,” Momo Estrella, head of design at Ikea China Digital Hub, told the study’s authors. “The digital work suffers a lot from distractions.”
宜家中国数字中心的设计主管莫莫·埃斯特雷拉告诉该研究的作者：“当我想到快乐、惊奇和魔力时，我认为现实世界仍然比数字世界有优势。数字化工作很容易受到分心的干扰。”
Gen Z is recharting other social pathways, too. A survey by the Walton Family Foundation last October, for example, found that while Gen Z students showed declining interest in careers in government, more than 70% participate in volunteer and other local civic activity. “They feel the people and communities who are closest to the problems can drive more equitable civic engagement and impact,” the study found.
Z世代也在重塑其他社会途径。例如，沃尔顿家族基金会去年10月进行的一项调查发现，虽然Z世代学生对政府工作的兴趣有所下降，但超过70%的学生参加了志愿者等本地公民活动。研究发现：“Z世代觉得最接近问题的人和社区可以推动更公平的公民参与和影响。”
An emerging generation is starting to reveal itself. Through an emphasis on inclusivity, collaboration, and independence, it is turning disruption into durable purpose.
新兴的一代开始展现自己。通过强调包容、合作和独立，Z世代正在将颠覆转化为持久的目标。