International Youth Day 2026: Managing Mental Health
Gen Z and younger Millennials are on track to become the majority of the workforce within the next few years. Right now, they're also the group reporting the highest burnout rates in Australia. That's not a coincidence employers can afford to look past. Here's what's driving it, and what actually helps.
Why is youth mental health at work declining?
A 2025 Beyond Blue survey of a nationally representative sample of Australian workers found that half had experienced burnout in the past year — and workers aged 18-29 reported it more than any other age group. Three drivers stood out: inappropriate workload (49%), a lack of management support (32%), and inflexible working conditions (21%). Among younger workers, 46% of Gen Z and 39% of Millennials said their mental health was negatively affecting their productivity. Put plainly: this is costing employers output and headcount, not just morale.
Is youth mental health getting better or worse?
It's not all one direction. A 2026 analysis of 24 years of Australian data, from researchers at UNSW published via the Medical Journal of Australia, found the steepest decline in youth mental health ran from 2019 to 2021. By 2024, there are early signs of a rebound — though levels still haven't returned to where they sat before the pandemic. The researchers' own caution is worth repeating directly: don't declare victory yet.
Worth holding two things at once here. The long-term national trend is cautiously improving. But the workplace-specific burnout numbers above are a current, distinct problem — one that needs action now, not an assumption that it resolves on its own alongside the broader trend.
Why ‘push through it’ doesn’t work for early career workers
Junior employees are often still building the coping routines, support networks and workplace confidence that older colleagues have had years to develop. The same pressure lands harder when none of that scaffolding is in place yet.
It's also worth naming plainly: the three drivers above (workload, management support, flexibility) often sit with the employer, not the employee. These three drivers are ones employers have real influence over, even if they're not the only factors at play. So the fix isn't just about young workers building more resilience. It's also about what's within the employer's control.
What managers can do:
Check workload at the individual level, not just the team average. A team can look fine on paper while one or two early-career staff are quietly underwater.
Build in regular, real check-ins. Telling someone your door is open isn't the same as them actually feeling safe to walk through it.
Offer flexibility where the role allows it. Inflexible conditions were named directly by 21% of workers as a driver of burnout, so this isn't a minor perk.
What actually helps: small daily habits
For someone still finding their footing at work, a major program overhaul isn't the answer. Small, daily, structured habits that support better mental health tend to work better, and they're more useful built in early than added on later in the case of a crisis.
It's the kind of daily practice our 25 Days 25 Plays program is designed to build. Stress regulation tactics like meditation and time outside can support overall wellbeing and build a person's capacity to manage day-to-day pressure before it compounds into something bigger. Better sleep habits matter too, since burnout and poor sleep tend to reinforce each other in both directions. Movement helps in short, realistic doses rather than an all-or-nothing gym commitment. And confidence-building, of the practiced kind, makes it easier to ask for support before a bad week turns into a bad month.
The bottom line
The earlier these habits are built, the more protective they are.
Try Play One from 25 Days 25 Plays, free, and explore our range of resources for more practical mental fitness tips.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A 2025 Beyond Blue survey found workers aged 18-29 report the highest burnout rates in Australia, driven mainly by inappropriate workload, lack of management support, and inflexible working conditions.
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The long-term national trend shows early signs of recovery after a steep decline between 2019 and 2021, according to 24 years of data analysed by UNSW researchers — but levels haven't yet returned to pre-pandemic baselines, and workplace-specific burnout for young workers remains a current, distinct problem.
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Take a proactive approach toward employee wellbeing, and empower your staff to develop mental fitness early on in their careers. Within your workplace, three practical steps line up directly with the data: check workload realism for early-career staff specifically, build in regular genuine check-ins rather than relying on an open-door policy, and offer flexibility wherever the role allows it.
