Why do young people miss so much work for mental health reasons?

The human resources firm SD Worx recently conducted a global study on mental health challenges for companies and employees in our country. It indicates that mental health is a cause of absenteeism among 25% of young people.

A surprising statistic is complemented by another equally striking one: compared to that quarter of those under 35, only 11% of employees between the ages of 50 and 64 miss work for these reasons. At the midpoint, 18% of workers between the ages of 35 and 49 miss work due to mental health issues.

Although they might be assumed to have better mental health due to their age, several factors work against them, according to Iván Fernández Suárez, a professor in the Master's Degree in Occupational Risk Prevention at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR).

Among the main causes, the expert points to "greater job insecurity, less work experience, greater difficulty accessing quality jobs; an increase in mental health conditions, especially after the pandemic and linked to digital hyperconnectivity." Furthermore, the expert also points to the life stage they often find themselves in, with work-life balance as an added challenge.

Greater ability to adapt to change

On the other hand, the new generations of workers have a series of particular characteristics that can influence this absenteeism. The expert points out that, because they are more accustomed to change, they are less afraid of the consequences or being fired , especially when the job is precarious.

And he continues: "They're not afraid of new things because they've experienced changes much more intensely than other generations. We only have to think about how the emergence of ICTs has transformed our entire society with dizzying changes over the last 15 years," and he points out that social media has barely been around for 10 years .

Leaders in mental health absenteeism

The SD Worx study also identifies employee well-being as one of the greatest human resources challenges facing Spanish companies. In fact, 32% of the companies surveyed identified it as their greatest current challenge.

Only 11% of employees aged 50-64 miss work for mental health reasons.

And they're right, because, as Fernández Suárez states, "we are leaders in mental health-related absenteeism, with 33% of sick leaves associated with these conditions; and we are world leaders in the consumption of benzodiazepines , medications used to treat conditions related to stress, anxiety, and insomnia."

Improve disconnection

Improving these data and, above all, improving the situation of workers is beginning to be a problem that must be addressed. To achieve this, the UNIR professor believes a cultural shift is necessary, "beginning to become aware of the digital hyperconnection to which we are subjected and starting to work on effective disconnection."

All of this requires a thorough analysis of the real state of our mental health. This requires a social effort in several directions: "awareness (mental health remains a taboo subject), business (getting to know people and involving them in decisions), and individual (self-analysis and making efforts toward self-awareness and improvement)." Therefore, the expert acknowledges that there is still a long way to go.