Millennials worry about paying down their student debt so much that they’re willing to make a deal.
The American Student Assistance — a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating financial barriers to attending college — recently released the Young Workers and Student Debt survey. Its data shows that employees aged 22–33 stress about their student debt so often that it affects their health.
So much stress that, of the 502 people it polled, 86 percent are willing to commit five years of their career to a job that will help them pay their debt back. (Just don’t do it at Red Lobster.)
“Young workers feel highly stressed out as a result of the burden of student debt and that debt clearly impacts their health and productivity in the workplace,” says Kevin Fudge, director of consumer advocacy and ombudsman at ASA. “Employers should realize that in order to retain the brightest young talent and demonstrate their commitment to employee well-being, they need to provide concrete and straightforward solutions to help alleviate this burden.”
What student debt is doing to millennials
According to the study…
- 56 percent worry about paying it back
- 40 percent worry it’s affecting their health
- 55 percent want to go to grad school, but can’t take on more of it
- 61 percent consider getting a second job to help pay it back
The study also looked at what students want from jobs to help manage their student loan debt, in exchange for a five-year commitment…
- 93 percent would take a sign-on bonus to pay back their loans with
- 92 percent want a student loan repayment match similar to a 401k match
- 89 percent want long-term financial planning
- 79 percent want free access to a student debt counselor
The average student loan debt currently exceeds $37,000 per college graduate entering the workforce. With that kind of financial burden, it’s not surprising that almost 90 percent of young workers have said they would benefit from a student loan repayment program,similar to a 401k match at their jobs. Or the fact that, half of those workers have also said they would benefit from student loan counseling.
Young workers feeling negative effects from work-related and financial stress is nothing new. Previous research on the subject shows that of the whole country, millennials feel it the most. In a poll on work-related stress in America, 64 percent of workers aged 18-34 claim to feel stressed out at their jobs — more than any other age group.
Even further research on millennials’ finance and work-related troubles, shows that 1 in 20 worry about money on an hourly basis. Student loan debt makes up 34 percent of their financial woes, the study found.
Almost 20 percent of millennials aged 25-34 vowed to pay down their debts in 2017, making it one of the top resolutions. It’ll be hard to get there on their own.
Currently four percent of employers offer student loan repayment contributions as a benefit, but that number is predicted to increase to 20 percent next year. If more employers take action on the troubles student debt is causing for this generation, that goal can become achievable, and not just another wasted New Year’s resolution.