Mental health crisis | Caring for Gen Z as mental wellbeing spirals out of control

A wellbeing epidemic is gripping younger workers as absence due to mental ill health soars. A new report highlights the pressing need for supports to be put in place to further prevent the talent drain of a ‘lost generation’.

Just over a third of young people (34%) aged 18-24 reported symptoms of mental disorder in data collected between 2021-22. British think tank, The Resolution Foundation, funded by charity, The Health Foundation, highlights a hike of 10% from when the report was last published in 2000.

The findings mirror those found by the Champion Health’s Workplace Health Report for 2024 which found that 16–24-year-olds are struggling most with their mental health, stress, and financial wellbeing.

Who’s to blame?

There’s no hiding from the fact that successive Covid lockdowns have taken their toll on a generation excluded from the school and college gates. Missing, key ‘in-person’ milestones such as sitting public exams in a school hall and the requisite celebrations that follow has meant many young people have slipped into depression, anxiety, and self-doubt.