Young people’s mental health in the workplace

A report for the Health Foundation’s Young People Future Health Inquiry

Young people across the UK have been facing increasing challenges over recent years which have impacted their health and wellbeing. The combined impact of the pandemic, cost of living crisis, and decreasing support for young people have exacerbated pre-existing concerning trends in young people’s mental health. Young people are struggling to make transitions to the labour market and, for those who do, work may not be having the positive impact on their wellbeing that supports them to thrive.

These challenges raise concerns about the longer-term impact on young people’s future health, and wider life outcomes, as work is a key social determinant of health. The research presented in this report aims to shed light on the experience of young people in work when it comes to mental health, to understand what challenges young workers might be facing and what action is needed, by policy, employers, and wider support networks, to address these. 

The research team recruited a sample of 2,000 young people aged 16-25 drawn from the four UK nations to take part in an online survey. All young people who took part were in some form of employment (full-time, part-time, self-employed or other) at the time of the survey. The survey was undertaken between December 2022 to February 2023. Quotas were used for age, disability, and ethnicity.

Key Findings

• Nearly half (46%) of young people surveyed who have a mental health condition do not disclose this to their employer due to feeling uncomfortable doing so. Female respondents are much less likely to disclose compared to male peers.
• Three in ten young people in the survey had either left a previous job or are planning on leaving their current job as a result of its impact on their mental health (19% and 11% respectively).
• Over two-fifths of young people in the survey either had a pre-existing mental health condition or challenge when recruited to their job (37%) or started experiencing one after joining (7%).
• Satisfaction with individual aspects of job quality does not translate into an overall positive impact on health and wellbeing. Just over half of young people feel satisfied at work (51%), and over one-third feel supported (35%) or enthusiastic (35%). Nonetheless, over one-quarter report feeling exhausted (27%).
• Young people are generally satisfied with the quality of their work (70% average across all factors). However, over three in ten respondents in our survey reported being dissatisfied with opportunities for career progression (37%), voice and representation (36%), pay (34%), feeling valued for their work (31%), and receiving support to manage their health (30%).
• Three in ten young people in the survey had either left a previous job or are planning on leaving their current job as a result of its impact on their mental health (19% and 11% respectively). Rates are higher among those who have an impairment, disability or health condition and among those who specifically have a mental health condition.