Toxic work culture driving young employees to quit the next day: Report

New research reveals young employees don't think their employer has a well-being culture

Toxic work culture driving young employees to quit the next day: Report

Being in a toxic work culture is enough to make majority of young employees quit their jobs tomorrow, according to a new report, as workplace stress continues to impact employees.

A new poll by Lifesum among Gen Zs and millennials in the United States revealed that three-quarters of them would leave their employers tomorrow because of toxic work culture.

This is even higher in the United Kingdom, where eight in 10 respondents admitted to the same sentiment.

In the US, 48% of the respondents said they would replace their job tomorrow for one that would better support their well-being.

The findings come as 52% of the respondents said they suffer from workplace stress, with another 51% saying work-related stress is affecting their personal life always or most of the time.

Research of stress impacting career decisions, personal lives, and even an organisation's revenue have been prompting renewed calls towards employers to do better. In Singapore, nearly four in 10 employees there admitted that they took time off work at least once in the past year because of stress.

What can employers do

More than half of the respondents (64%) said they don't think their organisation has a well-being culture, according to the survey.

The alleviate the stress they've been feeling, the respondents cited good management, healthy eating initiatives, economic compensation, and mental health support as the best measures that their employers could implement.

"Gen Z and millennials are telling us that factors, including healthy eating initiatives, help them - and for good reason, given that scientific evidence shows how a balanced diet can support a healthy immune system," said Wesleigh Roeca, director of business development at Lifesum, in a statement.

Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post and Thrive Global, previously told HRD that HR leaders have a critical role in addressing the impact and causes of stress in the workplace.

"Taking care of your employees is now essential for the business. Essential for leaders," Huffington said. "There's a new urgency to the work HR leaders are doing, because unless firms make a concerted effort to inspire and uplift their struggling staff, we're going to have a mental health crisis on our hands."