UK Advisor Warns Anxiety and Tech Reliance Hinder Youth Workforce Adaptation

A UK government advisor warned that rising anxiety, depression and reliance on technology are making it harder for young people to adapt to the modern workforce.

Alan Milburn is set to tell the government and businesses that flexible working arrangements and proper mental health support could bring long-term economic benefits, especially as the number of economically inactive people aged 16 to 24 continues to rise.

According to reports by The Guardian, Milburn’s interim report on youth inactivity examines the impact of social media, changing work expectations and mental well-being on the growing number of young people outside education and employment.

Milburn, a former health secretary under former Prime Minister Tony Blair, was assigned the task by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer last year to investigate why nearly one million young Britons fall under the category of “NEET”, referring to those not in education, employment or training.

In his report, Milburn argues that companies and organisations need to understand how digital culture has changed younger generations.

He said smartphones and social media have altered how young adults communicate, cope with stress and engage with work.

“The system is trapping people in worklessness rather than enabling them into work,” Milburn told the Times. “We’re at a risk of just writing a whole generation off.”

Milburn also described what he called a “bedroom generation”, whose members spend much of their time online and away from traditional workplace environments.

“This is a bedroom generation. They are sort of living in their bedrooms. They are on all the time; they’re never off. [Social media] is leading to some evidence of functional impairment, changing their sleep patterns and concentration levels. That is having an impact on their ability to work,” he said.

He rejected criticism that younger workers lack resilience.

“They are not snowflakes. People say it’s a soft generation. My view unequivocally is that it isn’t. It is an anxious generation,” he said.

According to government statistics, more than half of Britain’s 946,000 NEETs have never worked before.

The data also showed that around one-quarter of young people suffer from long-term illness or disability that prevents them from working.

Among them, nearly 43 per cent cited mental health issues as the reason for being outside the workforce, compared to 24 per cent in 2011.

Officials also noted that youth inactivity in Britain remains higher than in several comparable countries.

Research has shown links between unemployment in early adulthood and lower wages later in life.

Milburn’s report stated: “[Young people] are different, not worse, not lazier, not less intelligent. They have grown up in a digital world that has rewired how they communicate, form relationships, and manage stress. They have fewer experiences of workplaces and they present with higher levels of anxiety and depression.”

The report comes at a time when migration to Britain has fallen sharply after reaching record highs in 2022.

According to Milburn, businesses could recruit from the large pool of inactive youth if they are provided with proper support and training.

Last week, former headteacher and government advisor Peter Hyman said in The Guardian that schools are increasingly pushing vulnerable young people towards long-term disengagement from employment.

He also called for urgent reforms, including restricting social media access for minors.