A report in The Times tells us: “72 per cent of those in Generation Z would be afraid of being branded a ‘snowflake’ if they took a sick day because of poor mental health, with 43 per cent saying that this would stop them taking one”. (Generation Z is generally defined as those born after 1995. The survey was carried out by the graduate recruitment website Milkround.)
And so it turns out that most of these Z-ers exercise the option to be “economical with the truth”: “The survey found that 62 per cent of Generation Z workers had taken a sick day because of a mental health problem but that only 24 per cent of these were honest about their reasons.”
It’s a big problem …the HSE tell us that mental health accounted for 57% of all sick days lost in the UK in 2018…. and this study shows the problem is even bigger for Generation Z: across all age ranges, 29% of workers had taken a “mental health sick day” and half of these felt that they could be open with their bosses; yet 62% of Generation Z workers had taken a “mental health sick day” but that only about a quarter of these were honest about their reasons.
So the level of “mental health sick days” is significant for all ages… but the problem more than doubles for Generation Z – and for Generation Z the level of honesty plummets. Even if we make some allowances for, as some commentators suggest, the “mental health sick day” being the new version of a “bad back” or a ”day off after a late night out” – these results are still very high indeed.
The Times piece suggests this lack of openness might be because the generation Z-ers fear being labelled as “snowflakes” – but I expect it’s more likely to be due to their worries about the serious longer term impact on their careers… and their prospects of progression.
“Snowflake” is a pejorative term popularised on social media to stereotype young people; to suggest that they are more prone to feelings of distress and outrage than previous generations.; yet we know that generation Z-ers are slower to mature e.g. to leave home, to start families, to buy a home etc; while they value their “work life balance” (the flip side of this is that they are less prone to “work work work”); they have always had the internet so think nothing of connecting with other across thre world… at any time; and they apparently have a strong sense of individuality (- yet I suspect they just want to be like their friends as per all other generations!). Of these traits, I expect that while generation Z-ers do seek a life that has a better work-life balance they are a bit defensive about being seen as less committed to their work by their employers – yet this is two sides of the same coin.
In my opinion “snowflakes” should embrace the terms – and say “yes I want a better work life balance – to do otherwise will not make me more productive in the longer terms… for me or my employer”.
Now, it seems to me that most major employers are very tolerant and supportive of employees with mental health problems (from whatever generation) – yet most private sector jobs are now within small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who may well be less tolerant*. So maybe it is time for the SMEs to get their act together and provide support to help employees to avoid mental wellbeing challenges.
As you may be aware, we at Carina Sciences are proving our Rezl app to employers to help build resilience within their employees – to help their staff to deal with stress and to reduce their likelihood of developing conditions like anxiety and depression. The app uses Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). The proof is in the pudding… and research shows MBCT significantly reduces absenteeism and staff turnover. Yet it also improves the performance of all employees: research shows MBCT helps people to improve their focus and to make better decisions under pressure; and it improves their ability to listen; it also improves “open mindedness” and empathy – research has shown that teams with mindful team-members are more effective and more likely to collaborate towards achieving team goals.
What were are finding is that, while many large organisations have programmes in place, it is the smaller organisations (<5000 employees) that often lack such proactive interventions.
So I guess the solution may be for “Snowflakes” to be more open about mental health and less defensive about their choice.. and for employers, especially SMEs, to be more supportive.
Finally, reading thru the comments attached to the Times article there were some clear themes including… Why do people stay in jobs that are causing them to have such problems? Of course, once you have a record of mental health absences then moving to any new job might be difficult – but I wonder if some people should continue with jobs or with employers that make them feel unwell – if you have a duff employer then move on quickly.
*In 2018 employment in SMEs however was 15.7 million i.e.60% of all private sector employment in the UK.