Gen Z is missing the equivalent of one work day every week due to their mental health, according to a new study.
The health and life insurance company Vitality found that Gen Z employees in the UK reportedly lose an average of 54 productive days per year, clocking into work every day but not operating at peak efficiency.
The cause, the company found, was mental health struggles.
Across the board, nonproductive or missed days of work have cost the UK economy more than $178 billion, Vitality reported. In the US, according to past Gallup data, dissatisfied and detached workers cost the world an estimated $8.8 trillion.
According to the Vitality analysis of 4,000 people, young workers are 224% more likely to be depressed compared to their older colleagues, and employees who earn less than $38,000 per year are more likely to feel neglected by employers.
But only a quarter of workers surveyed said they took advantage of companies’ wellness resources.
“If health at work is properly managed, business and the wider economy stand to gain significantly,” Vitality CEO Neville Koopowitz told Fortune.
In the US, Gen Z employees have previously been found to be more likely to ditch work for a mental health day, and the young workers also take more sick days than past generations.
“This generation is more tuned into their mental health needs, but they’re also facing more stressors than any previous generation,” work expert Lucy Kemp told Metro UK.
“They’re more likely to miss work because they’ve been conditioned to recognize and prioritize mental well-being, even if it means taking time off, something older generations were less inclined, or able, to do.”
