Young workers more prone to work-related mental health issues
Mental health issues have been “on the rise” in the past three years in Japan, with younger workers most likely to experience work-related mental health issues.
Data from the Japan Productivity Centre found that 39.2% of companies in the country has have observed rising mental health issues over the most recent three years.
The percentage of companies saying mental health issues have been on the decline is also decreasing, according to the data, as reported by Nippon.
Employees in their teens and 20s were most likely to experience work-related mental health issues, revealed the data, which was pooled from a survey of HR personnel at listed companies in Japan.
“Young people who started at companies during the COVID-19 pandemic may be feeling more isolated and lonelier, as working remotely meant they have been unable to develop sufficient interpersonal relationships and work skills,” the centre said as quoted by Nippon.
Employee mental health in Japan
The findings reflect mental health challenges experienced by employees in the Asia region. Findings from Aon and TELUS Health recently revealed that the mental health of Asia’s working population is “under strain.”
In Japan, data from the Labour Ministry released last year revealed that mental health cases recognised as being work-related reached 1,055 in fiscal 2024.
This is a record-high for the country, with cases exceeding 1,000 for the first time, The Japan Times reported.
The top cause of work-related mental health cases was power harassment or abuse of authority from superiors, according to the report. Other causes include significant changes in job roles and workloads, as well as customer harassment.
