Behind funny cats and dancing challenges many young people are pleading for help.
Eco-anxiety, social media pressure, teenage bullying, tragic world news, financial stress – this only scratches the surface as to why suicide is a leading cause of death amongst Australians aged 15-24.
It’s so serious that our Gen Z & Corporate Activism report has found mental health is the third biggest world issue Gen Zs want businesses to help with, after climate change and plastic pollution.
Here’s how they can.
(image from a.-addison-martin)
First off, normalise the convo
“Businesses can tap into these issues by promoting the idea of talking (about mental health) to break mental health stigmas and helping to educate people. This will show that they care about the community that they are selling their product to and not just the money that they are gaining,” a 16-year-old female from NSW said.
Donate or act, both help
“Businesses can improve their image by donating to charities and organisations such as Beyond Blue. Larger companies can also put money towards or even create community projects that foster mental health. This could be informational workshops, healthy activities for young people or counselling services,” a 16-year-old from NSW said.
Commit to it internally
“‘Mental Health Meetings’ should be a program that happens every fortnight at a comforting location. Overwork of employees should be made sure of by asking if the employer or higher-up is pushing them too hard. Businesses should strive to benefit not only themselves but also the employees and customers,” a 16-year-old from NSW said.
A 19-year-old male from Victoria added,“Businesses can improve on this issue by offering workplace mentoring and psychology sessions to foster a conducive and relaxed environment at work for people both young and old.”
If you don’t then this can happen
“Because of the lack of support I had in my workplace, I had to quit. There were times where I tried to reach out for help because I always wanted to die. I was not happy, I needed someone to talk to, and the only people I could talk to were the people at my workplace. But because they didn’t understand, they would brush me off. If there was more awareness and support in workplaces, I think we’d all be a lot happier when we’re working,” a 17-year-old female from NSW said.
Support more vulnerable groups too
“The inequality between gender-conforming and non-gender conforming individuals and their associated support with LGBTIA+ communities, not in terms of branding a flag but actual social support regarding these issues, such as support for mental health services. Particularly support for minority groups inclusive of race and gender,” a 21-year-old male from Victoria said.
Help with research if you can
“I’m scared for our youth and the depressive culture we’ve surrounded ourselves in, I believe we should be cracking down on research to do with youth mental health,” a 16-year-old male from Victoria said.
