Nearly one million young people across the UK are not in education, employment or training. Too many young people are unable to sustain work due to poor mental health, while others experience working conditions that actively harm their wellbeing.
Employers play a crucial role in preventing poor mental health. By working with young people, employers and policymakers, and supporting employers to create mentally healthy working environments, we can help more young people to thrive in their early working lives.
Improving the experience of work for young people
We want to see more young people in work, having positive experiences in the workplace, and staying mentally healthy at work long-term.
Our work in this area focuses on:
- Building collaborations for change – bringing employers and young people with lived experience together, creating a shared commitment to prevention and co-creating solutions.
- Understanding workplace impacts on young people’s mental health – co-designing research with young people on how early workplace experiences shape mental health and how inequalities, including discrimination, impact on mental health at work.
- Identifying and sharing the most impactful preventative actions – building on our research to provide clear, practical and realistic guidance for employers; and challenge misconceptions about the cost and complexity of workplace mental health solutions.
- Campaigning to amplify support needs in the first year of work – led by and featuring young people’s lived experience to increase public understanding and create pressure for change.
- Influencing existing and future legislation and regulations – shaping national employment standards, rights and support for young workers through the evidence we have built.
