As the pandemic rages on, costs of living increase and how we work continues to change; our young people struggle to maintain their wellbeing. According to the latest National Survey of Mental Health released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, almost half of Australian young women and one in three young men aged 16 to 24 live with a mental illness. And while the government continues to put initiatives in place to support our youth, workplaces also have a role to play as young adults begin their careers. If half of the graduate hires are experiencing poor mental health when they start their first "real" job, are we setting them up for career longevity or leading them down the path of early career burnout?
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The Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey found that young adults are navigating a very uncertain time. When surveyed in 2021, it had been a challenging year, but Gen Z's and millennials were hopeful, with vaccines beginning to roll out. However, in 2022 the pandemic continues and there are now more uncertainties in the mix. The sense of the last few years being temporary has begun to fade, and disruption has firmly set in as our new normal. With their values and drive to live their purpose conflicting with everyday life's demands, many feel burnt out and struggle with their mental health. Aside from life challenges, some common individual factors can contribute to burnout and deplete our mental health reserves as we set off on our career journey. These are things like a perfectionist personality, imposter syndrome, fear of failure, hypersensitivity when processing feedback and feeling the struggle to strike a sustainable work/life balance when feeling competitive to be put on that next great project or obtain a promotion. In addition, starting one's career in a pandemic has often resulted in lack of career readiness to cope with on the job demands, with mentoring, role modelling and training being significantly impacted by remote working.
So what can workplaces do to set their graduates up with mental fitness for career longevity?
Supportive leadership connects graduates to the bigger picture
Graduates often find themselves in the perfect equation for burnout - high demands placed on them and little control or say over what they work on, however there is one important influence that can mean the difference between burnout and motivation ... and that is workplace support. Demands and our level of control over these demands are unlikely to change in the early stages of our career. However, suppose we feel high levels of support from our managers, leaders and peers.
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In that case, we can still feel motivated and an essential contributor to the organisation's greater purpose, no matter how mundane or menial a task may feel. The level of support we feel from a leader not only contributes to our sense of purpose at work but also directly impacts our level of wellbeing. But let's face it, leaders don't have it easy at the moment either. Apart from all the usual stressors of being a leader, they too are experiencing burnout and ambient stress as they navigate the unending world disruptions while trying to motivate a team. The benefits ripple through the organisation by upskilling leaders in developing a supportive leadership style.
Improved self-efficacy builds resilience and improves wellbeing
One of the main contributors to burnout and distress for graduates is that qualifications rarely teach the skills to mitigate and navigate various challenges faced when embarking on a professional career. It's important that these "soft" skills are taught early to improve self-efficacy, build resilience and act as a protective factor for a person's mental health. These skills include:
- Adjusting expectations and reframing mindset around control
- Rethinking stress to improve performance and prevent burnout
- Improving confidence and combatting negative self-talk in the face of failure
- Perseverance and commitment to setting and achieving goals
- Assertiveness and interpersonal skills
- Time management and agile working
- Connecting to meaning through strengths
- Optimising hybrid work
Upskilling graduates with these skills prevents early career burnout and establishes their wellbeing and mental health as necessary for career longevity. These skills also act as a protective factor against incurring psychological injuries in the workplace, something we know is on the increase. By redefining career success to include wellbeing and improved mental health, business will be able to contribute positively to our young adults' mental health.
- Rachel Clements is co-founder and director of psychological services, Centre for Corporate Health.