Why are young people more often on sick leave?

• Excluding covid-19, ordinary illnesses (flu, cold, sore throat, etc.) are the leading cause of stoppages (27%) ahead of psychological disorders and professional exhaustion which cause 20% of stoppages (after 17% in 2021 and 15% in 2020), according to an annual study by the social protection group Malakoff Humanis published on Thursday.

• 43% of young employees who judge their mental health to be poor were arrested in March 2022 (compared to 18% of all employees).

• 20 Minutes

  takes stock thanks to the insight of psychologist and specialist in work exhaustion Philippe Zawieja.

Sick leave increased in 2022. Four out of ten employees were arrested.

An upsurge which is not only due to Covid-19 and particularly affects young people, underlines the study by the social protection group Malakoff Humanis published Thursday.

People under 30 are more often stopped by their doctor than all employees and more often invoke psychological reasons.

But why is the mental health of young people more damaged?

looks at this public health problem.

Why do young people report worse mental health than others?

It's a fact: people under 30 are more likely to judge that their mental health is degraded.

Among employees, they are 23% among young people against 16% for all employees.

"The mental health of young people has been deteriorating for years," notes Philippe Zawieja, specialist in psychological health at work.

A problem that preceded the Covid-19 pandemic, he specifies, citing pell-mell “the increase in student life” or the “lack of perspective”.

"Young people also attach more importance to their psychological health because they are, most of the time, little confronted with physical health problems", he underlines.

Because if young people are more often on leave due to Covid-19, their physical health is generally less a source of anxiety and requires less maintenance than for older employees.

But the pandemic has been particularly violent for many young people.

The latter have experienced repeated confinements and attacks on their freedom of movement as an injustice, in particular at the start of the epidemic, when the coronavirus was presented as a dangerous disease only for the elderly and those with comorbidities.

Especially since for many young people, students or new employees, "this confinement took place in difficult conditions, for example in a studio, and the loss of their social and festive life, which is a strong marker of youth , was particularly violent,” underlines the occupational health researcher at Mines ParisTech.

How can work particularly influence the mental health of young people?

With each generation and, above all, at each age of life, the relationship to work changes.

Young employees are “searching for meaning” in their professional lives.

But this quest is made difficult by a saturated labor market, particularly in certain areas, as well as a “dematerialization of work”.

“Teleworking among young employees was initially synonymous with great freedom, great autonomy in organizing their own work, but the counterpart is great loneliness,” emphasizes Philippe Zawieja.

To engage in a company and feel a driving force behind its projects and orientations, working from home can become counterproductive.

Not to mention that you are more likely to be in a position of responsibility at age 50 rather than at 25.

However, it is difficult for young people to work in companies that do not (yet?) take climate change into consideration, for example.

"The world as young people perceive it is extremely distressing between the economic perspectives, the epidemics which seem to follow one another and the environmental perspectives", lists the author of the book

.

According to a study published in

and which concerns ten countries, 45% of young people today suffer from eco-anxiety.

Many young employees therefore have the feeling of not “controlling their future”, which is a “major factor of depression”, explains the specialist in work exhaustion.

People under 30 are also more likely to do “food jobs”.

“We were brought up with the idea that work should be as fulfilling as the rest and it is a criterion that is becoming more and more important, but when you do a food job, you are far from being in the fulfilment", emphasizes Philippe Zawieja.

44% of young people (compared to 35% of all employees) who judge their mental health negatively attribute it solely to the professional context.

How to improve the psychological health of young people at work?

As counterproductive as it may seem for companies and Social Security, the fact that young people who feel psychologically ill stop more often than all employees is good news.

"For some, it may seem 'shabby' to give yourself a break when you are in psychological pain, but in terms of care, it's always better to take things upstream.

It's shorter, less heavy and less violent, ”deciphers the expert in mental health at work.

It can be very rewarding to weigh in on the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) orientations of your box, to regain control over your future and have the feeling of making a difference.

When it's possible.

But while waiting to have decision-making power or to be able to change their professional life, many young people continue to have the feeling “of being at the mercy of dated, slow decisions that do not respect their pace”.

Our mental health file

Philippe Zawieja notes that time will have to pass if we want to see a societal change on this issue because "for the moment, the well-being of employees is not the essential concern of a company even if that gradually becomes one of its secondary missions”.

He then advises to practice sport to let off steam and take care of his psyche.

You should also try to get away from screens at night, which disrupt sleep.

Young people are the biggest screen consumers and those who report having the most problems sleeping well.

Almost one in two employees under the age of 30 suffers from sleep disorders, compared to one in three of all employees.

Health

Mental health: Burnout, a highly contagious syndrome among medical interns

Company

Mental health: How to treat eco-anxiety?

• Health

• Mental Health

• Youth

• Work

• burn out

• Sick leave