News item | 05-09-2023 | 06:00
Young people experience more and more starting mental complaints due to work stress. This has emerged from new research in which TNO, at the request of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW), investigated trends in burnout complaints among young people. With the ‘Hey, it’s okay’ campaign, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and SZW are helping young people to make work stress a subject of discussion. Because many young people don’t do this yet. While it does relieve and reduces the chance that mental complaints will get worse.
The biggest sources of stress among young workers are: pressure to perform, social pressure and uncertainties in life. This is evident from the TNO study. Young people want to meet the expectations of others, for example find it difficult to say no or have the idea that they should always be available. They worry about their career prospects or feel pressured because they think others are doing better. The study shows that the number of work-related burnout complaints is increasing the most among young women and highly educated people. And among young people who have many complaints.
Good and bad forms of stress
Psychologist Thijs Launspach: “Fortunately, you can handle quite a bit of stress, also at work. Your body and head can withstand being in the stress position from time to time. Sometimes you even need a little stress to perform – that’s healthy tension. But things go wrong when you are under too much pressure for far too long and cannot recover properly in between. Then stress becomes harmful and unhealthy. Talking to people close to you and whom you trust helps. This way you give words to your experience, you get support and you can better process what you are dealing with.”
Minister Van Gennip: “Young employees experience more and more incipient mental complaints due to work stress. We have to do something about that together. That starts with discussing what you encounter and what concerns you. That is a sign of strength and helps you in the workplace. Moreover, by talking about it you can reduce the chance of a burnout,” says Minister Van Gennip of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW).
State Secretary Van Ooijen of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) explains the importance of talking: “Recognize the signs of work stress. And talk about it. For example with your manager, a colleague with whom you get on well or someone with whom you feel familiar, such as a friend or family member. You will see: you are not alone. And you immediately feel better.”
Nutan (23) works as a recruiter and always has targets to meet. “I am naturally someone who wants to do everything right, and do it just as well as my colleagues. Because of that pressure to perform, I build up a lot of underlying stress. I then sleep badly, because I am already busy with everything I have to do the next day. It helps me to talk about my work stress with a friend. We do that every day after work. She works in a completely different industry, but her listening ear is often enough for me. It’s a relief. a conversation with her, I remember: it’s just work.”
About the campaign
The ‘Hey, it’s okay’ campaign is an initiative of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW), MIND and MIND Us. The campaign encourages young people with early mental complaints to talk about how they feel. The campaign shows that everyone can experience feelings of (work) stress, uncertainty, performance pressure, fear of failure or gloom. The campaign calls for people to stop hiding those emotions, emphasizes the added value of talking and provides concrete tools to help you talk about this. For example, by sharing the experiences of other young workers.
Broad social cooperation against burnout complaints
In 2021, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment started the “Broad Social Cooperation Burnout Complaints” (BMS) program. In this context, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment works together with the Ministries of Health, Welfare and Sport and Education, Culture and Science, employers’ and employees’ organisations, knowledge institutes and trade associations to reduce burnout complaints among workers. From the BMS, the partners work together on knowledge sharing, the development of tools and practical support. The conversation in the workplace and in society is also stimulated through information and campaigns.