Two In Five Young UK Workers Took Burnout Leave

LONDON, Jan 16 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- Young adults in the United Kingdom (UK) are facing significant pressures both inside and outside work, with almost two in five taking time off in the past year due to poor mental health caused by stress, reported PA Media/dpa.

A survey by Mental Health UK found that more than nine in 10 people reported experiencing high or extreme levels of stress.

Brian Dow, chief executive of the leading charity organisation , warned that attempting to boost the economy without tackling workplace stress is like “trying to accelerate with the handbrake on.”

He called on organisations to “move faster” in supporting managers to start conversations about mental health before staff burn out and leave work.

The latest Burnout Report by Mental Health UK, based on a YouGov poll of more than 4,500 people, shows that one in five workers took time off due to stress-related poor mental health, similar to last year.

Workers aged 25 to 34 were most likely to experience high or extreme stress (96 per cent), while young adults aged 18 to 24 also reported high levels of strain, with 93 per cent experiencing pressure and 39 per cent taking time off — a three-per-cent increase on the previous year.

Isolation, high workloads, and fears of redundancy were major contributing factors, with almost half of young adults saying feeling isolated at work affected their wellbeing.

Poor sleep (65 per cent), money worries (64 per cent) and feeling socially isolated outside work (60 per cent) were also reported.

Dow highlighted that while young people are often seen as more open to discussing mental health, many remain silent about their own stress.

“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,” he said.

Of those who took time off, more than a quarter (27 per cent) received no support upon returning, and fewer than one in five (17 per cent) had a formal return-to-work plan.

Some 18 per cent said mental health was treated as a “tick box exercise,” and one in 10 felt it was not prioritised at all.

For the first time, the poll asked women whether menopausal symptoms contributed to burnout.

More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of women aged 45–54 agreed, along with 35 per cent aged 35–44 and 27 per cent aged 55 and over.

Dow added that employers play a vital role in helping people stay in work, but managers “often feel unsure about starting conversations on stress and mental health.”

--BERNAMA-PA Media/dpa