In what we call the post-COVID era, the world has seen many breakthroughs when it comes to tech, medicine, education, and even war. But one question remains: the younger generation, who were considered the Covid batch, have either just started working or have been working for the past 2 years but can’t seem to find stability.

What we can recall is the domino effect of the Covid-19 pandemic as it forced the students in their adolescent age to literally live and learn their so-called dream degrees in front of the screen. It created a lethargic effect where people didn’t seem to get on well with the education shifting to being completed online. While some shifted to content creation and some followed their passion, a huge segment of the population with half or little to no knowledge got stuck in online education.

As the world returned to normalcy, the younger generation lacked skills and practical knowledge to work in their designated field. This gave an unfair advantage to people who had the skills and practical knowledge to excel enormously.

As Gen Z started to work, they showcased a huge gap in communication skills to even communicate or be a point of contact for clients and their work. This creates a stigma of overthinking and rushing into a decision of either quitting or switching jobs, or thinking low of oneself.

Low self-esteem is one of the parameters of this situation at hand. We see people around us younger than our age excelling in life, earning more, and settling down, creating a psychological pressure to perform and get everything sorted.

While it is highly considered not to compare oneself to others because we do not know the actual reality he/she might be facing, it is important to stick to one decision and think highly of oneself to get the job done.

Overthinking, anxiety, and fear of comparison are the main factors that make every younger person settle for a much more comfortable and mediocre life. While practical parameters may be different, at a young age, we can use these to our advantage and fuel our emotional drive to perform and excel in better ways.

The following are some of the ways that might help Gen Z fight or overcome job anxiety.

It’s a job, not a punishment

It often feels that a job takes much of our time, and while it's true it’s not a punishment or time barrier; you have to make peace with what you do. It's okay to not figure everything out at the very beginning, but it’s important to keep an open mind about it and go forward. Taking it one day at a time, one step at a time, will help you learn and grow.

Generating a high self-esteem

We often compare ourselves to others and have a low cortisol release that stimulates us into a state of comparison, and we feel negative about ourselves. Mind you, you may need to seek professional help at times because we do not have a direct but indirect control over ourselves.

Practising solitude, thinking positively, and trusting the process will allow us to get better every day.

Limit the use of social media

Social media is a great way to stimulate yourself for a sudden dopamine release and feel liberated, but it also creates a web of fragmented reality that allows us to feel low on ourselves. Seeing random people achieve great feats or younger people buying cars and bikes and feeling left behind – all these are normal. While social media is great, it’s not a way to live and compare your life to others.

Cliché but trust the process/God's plan

I believe it’s important to trust the process and have utmost clarity in what you want to do and achieve, and keep working towards it, even if you believe or don’t believe in God or an ultimate power. Try believing in the process and the hard work you do every day; nothing happens overnight. Great things take time, and most importantly, they take consistency.

Be kind to yourself

When life feels overwhelming, it’s okay to take a pause and breathe, take a break, go out, have a good time with your loved ones, and spend quality time; this allows you to feel validated and generate much higher self-esteem and feel positive about yourself.

While there might be many more reasons to feel low about yourself, the only reason that you need to read and understand today is that it's not the end of the world; something big is coming your way. Trust the process, keep going, and fortune favours the brave.

At the end of the day, every generation faces its own struggles and uncertainties, but growth always comes through patience, resilience, and self-belief. The post-COVID generation may have started their journey differently, but that does not mean they are incapable of success. With time, experience, and consistency, stability and confidence will eventually follow.