Young adults across the UK are “facing pressures both inside and outside of work”, with nearly two in five taking time off in the past year due to poor mental health exacerbated by stress.
The figures stem from a new survey where over 90 per cent of people reported experiencing high or extreme levels of stress.
The chief executive of Mental Health UK warned that attempting to boost the economy without tackling chronic workplace stress is like “trying to accelerate with the handbrake on”.
The charity is urging organisations to “move faster” in equipping managers to initiate conversations about mental health, aiming to prevent staff burnout and avoid them being “pushed out of work”.
The findings from Mental Health UK’s latest Burnout Report are based on a YouGov poll of over 4,500 people, including 2,591 workers.
The NHS describes burnout as “a state of physical and emotional exhaustion” caused by constant pressure at work.
The survey found that more than nine in 10 (91 per cent) people experienced high or extreme levels of stress in the last year.
One in five (20 per cent) workers took time off due to poor mental health caused by stress, a similar level to last year’s report.
People aged 25 to 34 were most likely to experience high or extreme levels of stress (96 per cent), overtaking those aged between 35 and 44.
However, the report suggests young adults aged between 18 and 24 “continue to face a great deal of strain in the workplace”.
Some 93 per cent said they experiencing high or extreme levels of pressure and stress in the last year, with almost two in five (39 per cent) taking time off with poor mental health, up 3 per cent on the previous 12 months.
Almost half of people in this age group (45 per cent) told the survey that feeling isolated at work had contributed to their issues, with other factors including fears of redundancy (43 per cent) and high workloads (57 per cent).
Almost two thirds (65 per cent) of 18 to 24-year-olds reported poor sleep and money worries (64 per cent), with 60 per cent saying they feel isolated outside of work.
Brian Dow, chief executive of Mental Health UK, warned that burnout is “fast becoming one of the UK’s most serious shared challenges”.
He said: “We all want a thriving economy that benefits employers and workers alike, but unless we tackle chronic workplace stress and help people perform at their best, we are effectively trying to accelerate with the handbrake on.
“This year’s report highlights continuing concerns about high levels of absence among younger workers.
“This group is facing pressures both inside and outside work, alongside an uncertain job market where AI is increasingly seen as a threat to some entry-level roles. For many, the social contract that rewarded previous generations for hard work is breaking down.
“While young people are often seen as championing better attitudes towards mental health at work, our survey shows many are staying silent about their own stress levels.
“Our workplace training team reports that young people do value regular check-ins on workload and wellbeing, when managers create the right environment for discussion.”
Of those who took time off work due to stress, more than a quarter (27 per cent) said they received no support when they returned to work, and fewer than one in five (17 per cent) had a formal return to work plan put in place.
Some 18 per cent of workers told the survey they feel mental health is treated as a “tick box exercise”, while one in 10 said mental health is not prioritised at all.
For the first time, the poll asked women if menopausal symptoms were a contributing factor to burnout.
More than two thirds of women (68 per cent) aged between 45 and 54 agreed, along with more than a third (35 per cent) aged between 35 and 44, and more than a quarter (27 per cent) aged 55 and over.
Mr Dow added that “employers have a vital role in helping people stay in work” but managers “often feel unsure about starting conversations on stress and mental health”.
He added: “If we want to see a thriving workforce, organisations must move faster in supporting managers to act early, before stress and poor mental health turns into burnout and people are pushed out of work.”