New college graduates report higher levels of anxiety. How managers can help them steer past fear and improve work performance—and how young workers can work to calm their anxiety and be more effective.
Michael Fenlon’s company is one of the nation’s biggest employers of newly minted college grads. He’s watching a tidal wave approach.
College presidents and deans tell him repeatedly that they’ve had to make managing students’ anxiety and other mental-health issues a priority. “They’re overwhelmed with the demand for mental-health services on their campuses. I hear this again and again. It’s really striking,” says Mr. Fenlon, chief people officer for PricewaterhouseCoopers, which hires thousands of college grads each year.
As Generation Z enters the workforce, more young recruits are reporting anxiety than any other generation. Some 54% of workers under 23 said they felt anxious or nervous due to stress in the preceding month, according to a 2018 American Psychological Association survey of 3,458 adults 18 and over. Close behind are millennials, with 40% reporting anxiety—surpassing the national average of 34%.
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