UK’s ‘anxious generation’ of young people struggling to adapt to workplace

Key Takeaways

• An “anxious generation” of young people is struggling to adapt to the outdated world of work, according to the government’s jobs adviser.
• Alan Milburn, a former Labour health secretary, will say this week in a report that businesses must adapt by offering more flexibility and mental health support for young people to stave off an “economic catastrophe.” In November last year, Milburn, who served in various government roles under Tony Blair, was asked by prime minister Keir Starmer to examine why almost 1 million 16- to 24-year-olds – about one in eight – were not in education, employment or training.
• His interim report on this cohort, known as Neets, will be published next week.
• According to the Times, it will say that “a rising tide of mental ill-health, anxiety, depression [and] neurodiversity” is a central driver of high economic inactivity among young people.
• The review is also expected to address the rising influence of social media on the mental health of young adults, with Milburn asserting that their brains have been “rewired” by smartphones.