A leading HR provider has called on companies to “act fast” or face “unprecedented levels of burnout” among younger Gen Z employees in their 20s.
New data from the Resolution Foundation reveals that Gen Z and people in their twenties are more likely to be off work than older people.
Jeanette Wheeler, Chief HR Officer at MHR, has said that caring for younger employees will also increase retention. “Clearly, young people have many founded grievances about the lack of emphasis on wellbeing in the workplace, and the lack of effective strategies to manage and respond to feedback. Labelling Gen Z ‘work-shy’ or ‘generation sick-note’ simply isn’t good enough – companies need to act fast to implement measures that will boost wellbeing, and in turn, retention,” she said.
“Technology can be a useful tool – digital sentiment analysis, for example, can be used to generate insights from check-ins, whilst pulse surveys can be used to gain instant snapshots of employees’ views. A positive employee experience has never been more vital – adopting a strategy to enhance it can ensure that employees of all ages are happy, support, and motivated.”
The new data “radically” bucks the trend for older people typically taking more time off work than their younger Gen Z and Millennial counterparts, says the Resolution Foundation.
Foundation data also found that 34% of people aged between 18 and 24 said they had issues to do with a mental illness, such as depression and anxiety, between 2021-22. The figure in 2000 was 24%, and women are more than two times more likely than men to be affected.
Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, shared concerns about how the data can affect the education of younger people. She said: “Attention on this issue has tended to focus on higher education, but what should most worry us is when poor mental health comes together with poor education outcomes.”
“The economic consequences of poor mental health are starkest for young people who don’t go to university, with one in three young non-graduates with a common mental disorder currently workless.”
“To address this mental health crisis, we need better support services in currently underserved colleges, and much better provision for those resitting exams so that everyone has qualifications to build on.”
The report also states that one in 20 young people couldn’t work in 2023 as they were off work.
The Resolution Foundation is asking the government for financial support to provide better mental health provisions in Sixth Form colleges. Director of the Health Foundation, Jo Bibby, called on the government to make changes or fear a “lost generation” of young people due to ill health.