Over 90% of corporate employees aged below 25 experience signs of anxiety: Report

A pan-India report on key trends and challenges around workplace mental health has found that over 90% of corporate employees under the age of 25 reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety, compared to 67% of those over the age of 45, in 2024..

The ‘State of Emotional Well-being Report 2024’ has been brought out by 1to1help, an employee assistance programme provider, for the second consecutive year. Data from over 83,000 counselling sessions, 12,000 elective screenings, and over 42,000 assessments conducted between January and November 2024 were analysed.

Revealing an increase in the uptake of counselling services among corporate employees compared to 2023, the report found that mental health concerns, such as anxiety, depression and stress, comprised 15% of the total sessions in 2024. While counselling related to workplace concerns constituted 11% of the total counselling sessions, workplace relationship-related discussions claimed the top spot, comprising 23% of all such discussions.

Gender-specific insights

“Counselling uptake by men comprised 7% of the total sessions, with 70% of financial consultations being undertaken by men, reflecting their worries about financial anxiety and societal pressure surrounding their role as the breadwinner of the family. Notably, there was a disproportionately larger representation of women in counselling with 52% of all sessions being taken by women. Over 60% of relationship counselling was sought by women, affirming the emotional burden they often bear, in nurturing relationships,” stated the report that was released on January 22.

The findings revealed that signs of depression and anxiety were more pronounced among individuals aged under 30 than those over 45 years. This is likely attributed to stressors such as relocation, career changes and relationship difficulties in their early and mid-twenties, according to the report. 

Surge in distress

The data revealed an increase in suicide risk from 19% in 2023 to 22% in 2024, and distress cases from 12% in 2023 to 17% in 2024.. “Alarmingly, 59% of employees referred by their managers showed signs of self-harm, reaffirming the need for manager training to help and support distressed employees,” stated the report revealing that the dependents of employees are at higher risk of suicide. 

“There is a need to extend emotional well-being assistance to employees’ family members as well,” according to the report.

According to the data, only 3% of individuals maintained a healthy digital balance, with most finding it challenging to disconnect from devices. This highlights the need to prioritise non-digital engagement and provide strategies to help employees manage technology use effectively.

Underscoring the importance of timely mental health support, the findings showed that over 98% of individuals achieved their goals or made significant progress within just three counselling sessions.

“Among those who initially screened positive for depression, 53% reported a significant decrease in depression symptoms, and 48% reported decreased anxiety. These results show that structured counselling can effectively address emotional challenges, and promote well-being in a short period of time,” states the report.

Mahua Bisht, CEO of 1to1help, said the data released in the report highlights the urgent need for organisations to prioritise mental health by fostering psychologically safe workplaces and training managers to identify distress and extending support to employees’ dependents as well. 

This also suggests that people are becoming more aware of the importance of mental health and no longer view it as taboo, she said.