GENERATION ANXIOUS

With reports that more than one-third of younger employees took time off last year for poor mental health, Louise Chunn looks into how we may be over-medicalising life's challenges

-  Louise Chunn

Growing up you always know that one day soon you’ll be heading off to work. Money, responsibility, a sense of purpose and a precious first step on the ladder to adult success. Isn’t that what your parents and teachers promised you?

It turns out they were wrong. More and more young people are feeling overwhelmed and stressed about work, while the number of people seeking treatment for their mental health is soaring. Some believe these are signs we are facing a true epidemic of despair and breakdown, but others wonder if the younger generation is simply failing to understand that dealing with the curveballs life throws is part of the deal and helps us build resilience.

The recent Burnout Report from the charity Mental Health UK showed that one-third (35 per cent) of workers aged 18 to 24 needed time off last year due to poor mental health, compared with one in 10 workers aged 55 and above.

The younger ones cited being regularly required to work unpaid overtime or taking on extra hours to deal with the increased cost of living as causes of their stress, while a similar proportion of the 25- to 34-year-olds blamed the stress of a high workload or job loss fears.

A sick-note culture is growing, with 29 per cent of workers aged 25 to 34 taking time off in 2024 due to burnout, compared with 23 per cent the previous year, and a quarter of workers aged 35 to 44 taking time off in 2024, compared with a fifth in 2023. However, there is also a growing feeling that the increased awareness of mental health is responsible for younger workers not being able to distinguish between the ordinary downers of everyday life and a real mental health crisis.