The past year has seen a sharp drop in the proportion of young workers who are prepared to confide in more senior members of staff over stress and difficulties in their jobs. Meanwhile, more younger people than older are taking time off for ill-health.
Mental Health UK’s 2025 burnout report revealed a 4% rise in the likelihood of younger generations (up to 44) saying they had needed to take time off through poor mental health caused by pressure and stress, while there was a 9% decrease among older generations (45 upwards) saying they needed time off for this reason.
The number of younger workers aged 18-24 who feel comfortable opening up to a line manager or senior leader about pressure and stress dropped sharply from 75% to 56% over the past year. This was a “warning sign of a breakdown in trust between employers and younger workers”, said Mental Health UK.
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Meanwhile, older workers reported being slightly more able to manage their stress levels and more comfortable discussing this with a line manager, rising from 57% in 2023 to 60% in 2024.
Overall, levels of pressure and stress remained high with 91% of UK adults reporting that they experienced high or extreme levels of pressure or stress in the past year.
The report found that almost three in 10 (28%) people aged 18-24 had to take time off work because of health issues while
waiting for NHS treatment, declining with age to 9% of those aged 55+. The youngest generation are most likely to have needed time off (35%), while only 10% of UK workers aged 55-plus say they have needed time off.
Presenteeism and silence over the issue of stress was putting people at a higher risk of burnout, the study found, with one in five working adults (21%) admitting their productivity or performance had been affected by high levels of pressure or stress, but that they hadn’t adjusted their hours or taken time off work.
Having to regularly work unpaid overtime was the biggest single source of stress for younger workers (48% of 18 to 24-year-olds). Taking on extra hours to deal with the increased cost of living (46%) was also a cause of burnout.
High stress
Workers aged 25-34, meanwhile, reported high stress caused by a high or increased workload (56%) and fears of redundancy or around job security (45%).
When it comes to switching off from work, only a third (33%) of 18 to 24-year-olds said they could when they needed to, compared with 46% of those aged 55 and above.
Brian Dow, the charity’s chief executive, said that underlying the numbers, the report painted a picture of only limited happiness in the modern UK workplace with only three in 10 workers feeling fulfilled, and nearly one in four reporting boredom. Nearly a fifth, 17%, experienced loneliness, the study showed – a feature of contemporary working life that Gartner has identified as a key challenge for employers in 2025.
Dow said presenteeism was a key factor in the findings: “The lack of engagement and connection within the workplace has far-reaching consequences, not least for employee retention and productivity. A culture of presenteeism persists, with one in five admitting that stress or pressure negatively impacted their performance, yet they continued working without adjusting their hours or seeking support. This reluctance to take action highlights an ongoing stigma surrounding stress and burnout, further entrenching their effects.”
Generational divide
On the generational divide revealed by the study, he said: “Our survey clearly reveals it is young people most at risk of high stress in the workplace, but raises doubts around whether they feel able to open up to their line manager and explore reasonable adjustments that could help prevent burnout.
“As the gap between generations widens, there’s a need to rebuild bridges and open up conversations on changing attitudes and expectations around work.
“We’re calling on employers to reconsider the approach to mental health and explore reasonable adjustments and workplace wellbeing initiatives in collaboration with their young employees.
“Otherwise, they risk losing out on the newest generation of workers as they either seek employment elsewhere or disengage.”
A total of 2,436 working adults were surveyed by YouGov in November and figures have been weighted to be representative of all UK adults.
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