What This Means
This research reviews over two decades of scientific literature (2003–2025) to examine what is known about the mental health of young workers, generally defined as people aged 18–35 who have recently entered the workforce. Rather than treating workers as one uniform group, the review focuses specifically on young employees, who have often been overlooked as a distinct population in workplace mental health research. The study identifies six major job-related stress factors that are linked to worse mental health in this group: poor job quality in terms of social and psychological conditions, sexual harassment, heavy emotional demands and work pressure, feeling insecure about keeping one's job, an imbalance between the effort put into work and the rewards received (especially when social support is also low), and unstable or precarious employment arrangements.
This research suggests that young workers face a meaningfully elevated risk of mental health problems, and that the conditions of their work environment play a central role in this risk. Generational differences — meaning the distinct values, expectations, and experiences that younger workers bring to the workplace compared to older generations — are also highlighted as relevant to understanding these mental health challenges. The review notes that most prior research has not separated young workers from the broader adult workforce, potentially obscuring problems that are especially relevant to this group.
Practically, this research suggests that organizations can take concrete steps to protect young workers' mental health, including improving job stability, increasing social support at work, reducing excessive workloads and work pressure, addressing harassment, and ensuring that employees feel fairly rewarded for their efforts. These findings point to a need for targeted workplace policies and interventions that specifically account for the vulnerabilities and circumstances of younger employees as they begin and establish their careers.