According to a new study, workers under thirty are more likely to contemplate suicide than any other age group. An analysis of 157,000 patient records also found that millennials are five times more likely to consider suicide than boomers.
Study results showed that 2.3 per 1,000 patients under 30 had a plan for taking their lives with the intention of carrying it out, compared to 0.4 per 1,000 patients over 60. The average ratio is 0.86 per 1,000 across all age groups.
In other study results, workers under 30 were much more likely to be afflicted with depression than older age groups; 4.8% of millennials suffered from the disorder, compared to 1.7% of boomers.
That means that if your company has 1000 staff at any given moment one of them is probably seriously considering suicide, and the number is higher if you employ more younger workers.
These findings should prompt employers with large numbers of young workers to prioritize the mental and emotional well-being of their employees.
In another recent survey employees revealed they are more stressed today than two years ago.
One challenge for employers is recognizing behaviours that signal an employee is struggling. Managers need to spot employees who seem overwhelmed or who are seriously — and possibly suddenly — underperforming on the job and move promptly to minimize stress by possibly offering flexible work schedules, encouraging employees to take time off, allowing remote work arrangements and adjusting workloads as needed.
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