The LongRange Adds Mental Wellness & Financial Literacy To Our Focus Areas
These Are The Foundation For Preparing Kids To Thrive in the Future of Work
Issue 20:
03.08.2023
The LongRange is a platform and community to provide parents and educators with insights, tips, and tactics to help them better understand and prepare their kids for the future of:
Careers & work,
Learning & skills and
New and emerging pathways to job market readiness.
Today, we are adding two essential talk tracks to this focus:
Mental wellness and
Financial literacy.
These are the foundation for success in this new world of work.
And while it would be entirely accurate to say this has always been true, recent data shows that both are more important and seemingly more difficult to attain than ever before.
As jobs become more demanding and uncertain, and the pace of changes continues relentlessly, managing stress and maintaining mental health will be critical. And as the economy becomes more complex, unequal, and precarious, the ability to manage money effectively will be essential for all pay ranges and networks,
But currently, the data suggests we need to focus more on both.
Mental Wellness Crisis:
The numbers show that 4 in 10 U.S. high schoolers experienced persistent sadness or hopelessness (2021). Nearly a quarter have seriously considered attempting suicide. Teen girls and LGBTQ youth are struggling the most, with the highest rates of sadness recorded by the CDC in a decade. From 2015-2019 prescriptions for anti-depressants rose 38 percent for teenagers compared to 15% for adults.
Forty percent of U.S. parents are "extremely" or "very" worried that their children will struggle with anxiety or depression at some point, a new survey finds. The Pew Research Center report said mental health was the most significant concern among parents.
Mental health and the tools to cultivate and manage and foster it is the very foundation of preparing kids to thrive in their future. Without it, nothing else will or does matter. That's why, from now on, we'll regularly include an ongoing discussion stream on the strategies, insights, and data around mental wellness - and what parents should understand and can do to help their kids.
Financial Literacy:
Recent research from Ipsos found that over one in three Americans are not considered financially literate. Among the concerning trends surfaced is that financial literacy is declining by generation. Baby Boomers are the most economically literate cohort (71%); Millennials (59% ) and Gen Z trailed both at 42%.
And the impact of this knowledge gap surfaces in alarming ways and with damaging consequences, particularly as inflation rises, wages stagnate, and employment is ever more precarious.
According to a recent survey of 2,700 U.S. adults working at companies with over 500 employees, thirty-two percent of American workers run out of money before payday (Including those earning $100,000 or even $200,000 a year). While increased financial literacy is not the complete solution, it will help.
And as parents, the first instinct is how to both protect and prepare our kids to be able to find financial security in their futures. Consider that against a work future where, regardless of what they do or where, jobs will primarily be freelance, interim, and navigating it with financial confidence require a greater level of economic understanding and cash flow management than ever before.
We need to do more to help ensure kids have the financial literacy and understanding that will enable them to navigate their futures confidently. And right now, this isn't happening. 54% of teens say they feel entirely unprepared to finance their future.
That's why financial literacy, tools, and programs to encourage and foster it, and helping parents handle questions and conversations around new financial instruments from Income Share Agreements (that let you defer tuition payments until employment is secured) and digital currencies will be just some of the areas that we'll be looking at to -help parents be able to help their kids better.
Thanks for reading and being a part of this growing community!
If you know someone working at the front lines of youth mental wellness, financial literacy, or career readiness that we should feature - let us know at: takethelongrange@gmail.com
And if you know a parent that could be interested in what we are doing, please invite them to subscribe.