Millennials who are currently entering or adjusting to the workforce are stressed—really stressed. Three quarters of Millennials (aged 18 to 34) report losing sleep due to stress, and one third of them rank their overall stress level as eight out of 10 or higher—almost 2.5 times higher than what was reported by their parents’ demographic, aged 55+. The results are from a survey conducted for Up All Night, a Centennial College (Toronto) student initiative.
“Up All Night is designed to get employers and students talking about the issue of mental health and wellness, so that we can get a better understanding and appreciation of each other’s perspectives,” said Erin Griffin, a student organizer, in a news release.
The 12-hour event was hosted at Centennial College’s Story Arts Centre on March 31, part of Project Fusion, an annual partnership with CivicAction that aims to generate conversation on urban issues and engage the next generation of change agents.
“Employers need to wake up to the fact that this new generation of workers has needs that will be very different from their predecessors,” said Evan Luke, a public relations student working on the campaign, who also represents the student voice on CivicAction’s Mental Health in the Workplace Champions Council, according to the release. “The high stress level of this age group demonstrates that the issue of mental health in the workplace will continue to gain importance as millennials transition from school to work.”
CivicAction, a city-building organization focused on the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, will be moving forward this year with an initiative to mobilize employers and employees to better support their colleagues’ mental health.
Stressed about the future
The survey, hosted on the Angus Reid Forum, found that compared to those aged 35 and over, Millennials were more likely to describe experiencing a “great deal” of stress, especially regarding their future plans (43 percent versus 19 percent). Stress about future plans was most likely to cause millennials to lose sleep (48 percent), followed closely by school-related stress (44 percent).
It is important to note, however, that while millennials may be experiencing the physical and emotional effects of stress and sleep loss, they don’t seem to be too concerned about it. The age group identified irritability (59 percent), trouble focusing (56 percent), anxiety (50 per cent) and feeling withdrawn (34 percent) as symptoms of this sleep loss; however, they were also twice as likely to say they had no health-related stress compared to those over the age of 35.
While millennials may not be concerned about their physical health, experts agree that physical and mental health are intrinsically linked. “Making physical health more of a priority can go a long way,” said Centennial College counsellor Eric Dunn, in the release. “Very solid evidence suggests that exercise helps us regulate our mood. Sleep well, guess what? You’re a better student! Eat well and we feel better. A nourished body and brain work better.”
Student voices are key to the discussion
“Some have described the impacts of stress as the ‘second-hand smoke’ of this generation,” said Sevaun Palvetzian, CEO of CivicAction, in the release. “Students, an important set of voices on urban issues and the workforce of our future, need to be part of the conversation and solutions. This is a great initiative that contributes to both.”
Donna Lindell, faculty supervisor for the initiative, agrees. “The students at the Story Arts Centre are to be congratulated for their hard work and determination to address this issue in a meaningful way. The students involved have shown tremendous leadership in making this campaign happen.”
The online survey was conducted from March 11 to March 15, 2016, with 1,135 randomly selected adult Ontario residents who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error is +/- 2.9%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Ontario. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
Source: Marketwired; edited by Richard Carufel