Employees Under The Age Of 30 Lose A Day Of Work Each Week In Productivity Due To Mental Health Issues & Stress, According To Research
Younger workers need more support.
cottonbro studio / Pexels There’s a common yet tired narrative that frames younger generations as lazy and entitled. If only millennials stopped drinking lattes while buying avocado toast, they’d be able to buy a house already. Gen Z is told they don’t want to work hard, yet the reality is that Gen Z’ers are working hard, only for lower wages in a world with skyrocketing expenses.
When people’s basic needs aren’t met, it becomes harder to navigate mental health. The fact that younger workers are making less money than older generations only exacerbates this stress, which in turn hurts their ability to work.
Workers under the age of 30 lose a day of work each week due to mental health issues.
According to an English study, people under 30 years old lose 60 days a year of work due to stress and other mental health struggles.
Boomers and Gen Xers reported a loss of 36 days a year due to the same issues, marking a 64% difference between older and younger generations.
Mental health issues have a major effect on people’s ability to work, even more so than physical injury or illness. Feeling depressed or anxious leads to a 150% loss in productivity, compared to a 54% loss due to physical health.
Feeling depressed, anxious, and generally exhausted makes it hard to get out of bed in the morning, let alone bring your best self to work, day in and day out.
Younger workers and lower-paid workers are hit harder by the heavy mix of depression, fatigue, and burnout. The study reported that workers making under $38,000 a year felt 86% more neglected than employees making a higher income.
Photo: cottonbro studio / Pexels
Reports from the U.S. echo the experience of English employees, highlighting just how challenging keeping our heads above water in the workplace has become worldwide.
The National Alliance of Mental Health found that 15% of workers ages 18 to 29 rated their mental health as “somewhat poor.”
52% of those polled reported feeling burnt out because of their jobs. 37% reported being so overwhelmed that it was hard to get their work done.
While burnout affects younger workers, mid-level workers, and women at higher rates, increased awareness, along with more mental health support could help ease the issues at hand.
In a U.S. survey on mental health in the workplace, 86% of workers believe that bosses need to do more for mental health. Healing from burnout and other mental health struggles requires both recognition of just how deeply people suffer and practical solutions to make their lives better.
Photo: Mikito.raw Photographer / Pexels
Younger generations were promised unfettered access to a certain amount of wealth, property, and job satisfaction that no longer exists, which would make any person feel depressed and stressed.
Wanting to work less than 40 hours a week in exchange for a living wage isn’t an earth-shaking request, especially for those who’ve seen the current system fail to make good on what it promised them. People deserve to afford rent, and groceries, and build their savings. We all deserve to live in ways that protect our inner peace.
It’s no wonder Gen Z is rejecting a corporate culture that doesn’t care for them, or provide the support they need to survive and truly thrive.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.