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Nearly half of Generation Z has already left their jobs due to mental health issues. Understand the data, the reasons, and how this shift is revolutionizing the global job market.
The scene that once seemed improbable in a world dominated by the mantra "swallow your tears and work" has now become official statistics. According to international surveys published throughout 2023 and 2024, 46% of Gen Z professionals have left or considered leaving their jobs due to mental health issues.This number redefines priorities and dismantles old corporate models. It is the highest rate ever recorded among modern generational groups and marks a symbolic break with the logic of absolute sacrifice for employment.
This shift didn't happen out of nowhere. It stems from the pandemic, accelerated cultural changes, the digitalization of relationships, and a generation that grew up hearing about burnout, anxiety, and quality of life. Data from McKinsey Health Institute, Gallup e Deloitte Global Gen Z Survey Studies reveal that work is no longer measured solely by salary or position, but by its impact on well-being, and that toxic routines, unattainable goals, long hours, and oppressive environments no longer go unpunished.
It is a line that separates the past from the new global work order: Those who fail to ensure their mental health will lose talent..
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Mental health at work: the new deciding factor for staying or leaving.
For decades, the dominant discourse was clear: stability, career plan, formal employment contract, and slow, linear progression. Generation Z breaks this emotional contract with work. And it does so based on numbers.
In January 2024, a Deloitte survey reinforced that Almost half of young people aged 18 to 27 have already left a job due to anxiety, stress, or emotional burnout., while others 46% say they would do the same if necessary..
The data reinforces an uncomfortable reality for the market: The relationship between employee and company will never be the same again..
And this is not youthful rebellion. The World Health Organization reports that cases of work-related disorders have increased by more than 25% in the post-pandemic period.
Generation Z, in turn, entered the market amidst working from home, uncertainty, and isolation, becoming the most aware—and at the same time most vulnerable—generation to the psychological impacts of professional life.
When work costs you your health: burnout as a breaking point.
If before the fear was being fired, today the fear is losing oneself. This is what the accounts circulating on social media and HR boards show. professional interviews And reports from markets like the US, Brazil, and Europe. Burnout, anxiety, and depression have become recruitment topics and, often, reasons for quitting.
This is not a movement of escape, but of survival. The generation that saw parents become ill from work refuses to repeat the cycle. The message is direct: No salary can compensate for a mental breakdown..
Companies that insist on rigid structures, excessive supervision, unsustainable goals, and a lack of dialogue are discovering that... They're not just losing employees — they're losing relevance..
The generation that trades stability for freedom — and the economic impact.
The movement isn't just emotional. It's economic.
Recent reports show:
- Record growth in independent professionals aged 18 to 27.
- An increase in young people starting their own businesses or working as freelancers.
- Migration to careers that offer flexibility, remote work, and autonomy.
It's the rise of the freedom economy, fueled by a generation that has learned to monetize skills online, desires multiple income streams, and rejects the false dichotomy of stability versus personal life.
Traditional companies are trying to adapt, creating psychological support programs, hybrid work schedules, reduced work weeks, and flexible benefits. Some are moving quickly. Others are resisting and falling behind.
HR either changes or becomes a thing of the past.
The side effect of this phenomenon is clear: old management models are crumbling. Traditional HR, focused solely on recruitment and control, is giving way to human-centered management with definitive pillars:
- Psychologically safe environments
- Empathetic and trained leadership
- Clear mental health policies
- Real flexibility, not just talk.
- Impact assessment, not presence-based evaluation
- Horizontal structures and open communication
It's not a fad, it's organizational survival. Generation Z will make up 25% of the global workforce by 2030. Ignoring this is choosing to lose competitiveness.
A generation that is not afraid to start over.
The message is written in the statistics and narratives that shape the new market:
- Bad jobs don't hold anyone back anymore.
- Toxic environments will be exposed and abandoned.
- Mental health has become a commodity.
- And stability, when it demands the price of life, is not stability, it's prison.
Generation Z is not destructive. It is healing. It is not rejecting work. It is rejecting pain disguised as discipline.
The corporate world that tries to ignore this movement will be talking to itself. Because, on the other side of the door, There's already a generation building its own path and leaving when necessary.
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