Mental Health UK Reports a Breakdown in Trust Between Employers and Younger Workers

Mental Health UK has published their second annual ‘Burnout Report’, which has revealed that there has been a break down of trust between employers and young workers. Off the back of last year’s report, detailing that one in five adults in the UK needed to take time off due to stress in 2024, they have reported that the risk of burnout remains a very real issue that has not been mitigated.

This year’s report has said that 34% have experienced high or extreme levels of pressure or stress ‘always’ or ‘often’ last year, compared with 35% last year. This lack of definitive improvement is worrisome, and there are now indications that there is a growing generational divide and a breakdown in trust.

Key Findings from Mental Health UK’s 2025 Report

• 9 in 10 adults experience high or extreme levels of pressure or stress in the last year.
• 18-24-year-olds are most likely to be absent from work due to poor mental health brought on by stress, with a sharp decline in the likelihood they would discuss with line managers.
• Young workers believe interventions such as reasonable adjustments, mental health training and a supportive line manager help reduce stress and eliminate burnout.

Mental Health UK had this to say about their findings:

“The survey points to a growing generational divide in experiences of stress and poor mental health in the workplace at a time of rising economic inactivity among the young, which organisations must address or else risk losing out on the newest generation of workers.”

Complementary research has also highlighted the wider issue of overwork. Resource Guru’s State of (Over)working 2025 study, based on responses from 2,000 UK desk workers, found that 84% regularly work overtime and 68% work weekends.

 The report links chronic overwork to burnout, anxiety, and even physical health symptoms. It also includes an interactive Burnout Risk Index that lets you explore who’s most at risk by age, gender, location, and working arrangement. 

Young Workers Are Experiencing Extremely High Stress Levels in the Workplace

Mental Health UK highlighted that young workers (18-24) were most likely to report high stress due to issues such as having to regularly work unpaid overtime, taking additional hours to keep up with the cost-of-living crisis and feeling isolated.

Those in the 25-34-year-old bracket were most likely to report a high / increased workload and volume of tasks with additional fears around redundancy and job security. 

Younger generations suffer from a poor work-life balance as well, with just 34% of young adults agreeing that they could switch off from work when they needed to.

For employers, one of the most worrying statistics came from young worker's trust in their line managers. There has been a sharp drop in trust with only 56% of young workers feeling comfortable about opening up to a line manager about pressure or stress, down from 75% in the 2024 Burnout Report.

Mental health remains a key part of the workplace and employers should seek to put measures in place to reduce employee stress and provide support where needed. It has a direct impact on safety and workplaces cannot claim to be safe if staff members are overworked and overwhelmed.

How Can Employers Support Workers Suffering from Work-Related Stress

Providing specialist training for line managers, and front-line staff is the beginning of developing a more positive culture around workplace stress. As showcased in the report, young workers believe that mental health training and supportive line managers will help reduce stress and burnout.

Poor worker mental health undoubtedly has a massive impact on safety, and we recognise it’s importance. This is why we pioneered safety training that weaves into mental health and workplace well-being, in our Astutis Mental Health and Workplace Safety course. Developed in collaboration with Professor Tim Marsh, the course features expert advice on understanding your own mental health whilst also showing you how to successfully support those in need of support. You can head over to the course page below to view a full breakdown of the course syllabus, course benefits and customer's most frequently asked questions.