Research

The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Young Professionals

The Mary Christie Institute, in partnership with the Healthy Minds Network, the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), and the National Association for Colleges and Employers (NACE) conducted a survey of graduates between the ages of 22 and 28 seeking to better understand the mental and emotional health of early career professionals.

The findings provide important insights into how employers can better support their younger workers and give colleges and universities impetus to re-examine how they prepare students for career and life.

Key Findings

    • More than half (51%) of young professionals surveyed reported needing help for emotional or mental health problems in the past year. 43% screened positive for anxiety; 31% for depression. Women reported worse mental health than men, with 68% of males self-reporting good or excellent mental health, compared to 45% of females.
    • Black and Asian American respondents reported better overall mental health than their white peers (60% and 63%, respectively, said they have good or excellent mental health, compared to 52% of white and 49% of Hispanic respondents). However, Black respondents were less likely to feel part of the work community than their white peers (50% vs 68%); and were less likely to say they have colleagues who would support them if struggling compared to their white counterparts (52% vs 73%).

    • More than half of young professionals (53%) reported that they feel burnout at least once per week. (Burnout was defined as “a state of prolonged physical and psychological exhaustion, which is perceived as related to the person’s work.”)
    • Of the young professionals who reported experiencing burnout weekly or more, 42% said they plan to leave their job in the next 12 months, compared to 32% of young professionals overall who said they plan to leave their job within the year.

    • More than a third (38%) of young professionals said that the environment at their workplace negatively impacts employee mental health and wellbeing.
    • Nearly half (45%) of young professionals believed their work environment has taken a negative toll on their own mental health in the previous year.

    • Nearly half (46%) of young professionals described their financial situation as always or often stressful.
    • 61% of those with more financial stress rated their own mental health as fair or poor compared to 31% of those with lower financial stress.
    • More than half (56%) of young professionals with higher financial stress said that work has taken a toll on their mental health in the previous year, compared to 37% of those with lower financial stress.

    • More than one third (39%) of respondents said their college did not help them develop skills to prepare them for the emotional or behavioral impact of the transition to the workplace.
    • Of those who said their college did provide support (also 39%), majorities named peer relationships (57%) and extracurriculars (51%) as influential experiences.

    • Nearly half (46%) of young professionals said mental health is a priority at their workplace. A quarter said it is not. Less than half (41%) said there are adequate resources to support employee mental health. Overall, 58% agreed that their workplace should invest more in mental health resources, with nearly two-thirds (64%) of women agreeing with that statement.
    • Interest in mental health resources was high among young professionals, particularly if offered for free. If offered, 82% said they would engage with mental health days, 67% would be likely to engage with resources to help employees find mental health care, and 68% would be likely to engage with mental health support groups.

    • Nearly a third (29%) reported having reached out to someone at work about a mental health problem they felt was affecting their job performance/productivity.
    • Of those who have spoken to someone at their workplace, 91% said the response from the person to whom they reached out was either very or somewhat supportive.

    • Almost half (43%) of young professionals said they would reach out to their supervisor if they had a mental health problem that they believed was affecting their job performance/productivity.
    • Those who said their supervisor has reached out to them about their mental health often were much more likely to say their mental health is good or excellent.
    • A majority (65%) reported that their supervisor has either never (36%) or rarely (29%) reached out to them about their mental wellbeing.