Youth: Between Precarious Employment and Health Issues

Work is no longer the top priority. At least not for the new generations, and experts are considering whether there is something positive in this paradigm shift where personal life and mental health are becoming more important than issues like income or professional success. Although this is the idea that seems to emerge in conversations among Human Resources experts, to find out if it is a reality, the Pfizer Foundation together with Fad Juventud have presented the study 'Youth Labor Insertion: Aspirations, Concerns, and Challenges' with the goal not only to understand the expectations of the youth but also to learn how the labor reality is affecting their physical and mental health. Despite the new generations aiming to prioritize their health and personal life, the reality of the professional market remains very different.

Thus, in this study, 1,200 surveys were conducted with young people aged 15 to 29, about 60% of whom are in the labor market, during April 2025. In terms of health, the report highlights that 29% suffer from continuous stress and 25% from anxiety. In addition, there are physical problems: half (48.3%) of the youth suffer from recurrent muscle pain and 40.2% suffer from fatigue or lack of rest, especially those who work and study at the same time.

For Sergio Rodríguez, president of the Pfizer Foundation, “we cannot develop as good professionals without that balance between health and work.” In this line, Beatriz Martín Padura, general director of Fad Juventud, added that there has been a lot of social criticism of the new generations, with phrases like “they drop the pen when it's time to leave,” but the reality is that we need to understand the social intergenerational change. “Professional success is no longer in the first place, it’s about being able to balance personal and work life.”

Gender Gap

Another milestone of this report is the significant gender gap between the data of young men and women. As Anna Sanmartín, research director at Fad Juventud, explained, it's not just that the report shows that men earn more income than women, but women have a worse perception of their health. Specifically, young women almost double the percentage of men, with about 40%, when they say they feel stress or anxiety continuously, compared to 17.8% of boys who suffer stress and 15.3% anxiety. According to Sanmartín, previous international reports have already pointed out that girls, from a young age, are demanded to be more responsible or get better grades, coupled with the fact that they are more aware of their emotions. The report indicates that economical and labor inequalities affect girls, conditioning their aspirations, perceptions of the labor market, and future concerns.

Among the conclusions of the 'Youth Labor Insertion' study, clear ideas emerge such as the higher the educational level, the better the salaries and lower unemployment. Also, there is a great academic pressure that does not correspond with the expectations of the labor market, with low salaries and heavy workloads. Regarding age, there is a correlation between the frequency of emotional discomforts and the increase in age.

Lastly, 40% of young people indicate that academic pressure to achieve good results is the factor that most negatively impacts their physical and mental health. Thus, in general, 7 out of 10 young people report experiencing stress occasionally or continuously. 6 out of 10 report frequent anxiety and lack of motivation. Moreover, more than half (56.7%) report regular sleep problems.