‘Something has to give': Warning Australia can't ignore any longer

News.com.au

2 days ago

There is a deeply concerning phenomenon on the rise across the country and, as Australians, unless we make a real change, it is only going to get worse.
New research has found money and financial concerns have the most significant impact on the mental wellbeing of all Australians, affecting 48 per cent of the population, followed by stress and anxiety.
New research by News Corp's Growth Distillery with Medibank has painted a worrying picture of how Aussies are coping with everyday stressors like work and their finances.
Researchers surveyed more than 2500 people aged 18 and over, finding the most commonly experienced, frequent and impactful stressor is feeling financially behind or guilty about spending money, with over 60 per cent of respondents indicating it happens most frequently and has the most significant impact on their mental wellbeing.
When it comes to the workplace, deadlines and intense workloads were identified by one in give as major sources of stress.
The pressure felt when it comes to work stressors also increases with income level, with 28 per cent of higher income respondents saying they lack downtime and feel overburdened, compared to 12 per cent of those on lower incomes.
Australia is in the grips of a mental health crisis, and people are struggling to know who to turn to, especially our younger generations. Can We Talk? is a News Corp awareness campaign, in partnership with Medibank, equipping Aussies with the skills needs to have the most important conversation of their life.
'Something has to give'
Mindset Consulting Psychology clinical psychologist Dr Aileen Alegado told news.com.au unaddressed workplace and financial stress can have serious long-term consequences, both on individuals and the wider Australian community.
'When we don't address workplace and financial stress, we're essentially asking our bodies and minds to run a marathon while carrying heavy backpacks - eventually, something has to give,' she said.
'From a neurobiological perspective, chronic stress keeps our amygdala - our brain's alarm system - constantly activated, while simultaneously suppressing our prefrontal cortex, which handles decision-making and emotional regulation.'
This then leads to what Dr Alegado described as a 'cascade effect' as chronic stress hormones like cortisol go further than just impacting mood, they can compromise immune function, disrupt sleep architecture, and shrink our brain's memory centre, known as the hippocampus.
This can manifest as an array of issues, such as increased rates of anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease and cognitive difficulties - all of which can persist even after the initial stressor is removed.
But there is a big reason this is so concerning for Australia has a whole.
Stress is contagious, according to Dr Alegado.
'When individuals are chronically stressed, it ripples through families, communities, and workplaces,' she said.
'We're seeing increased domestic violence rates, children developing anxiety disorders at younger ages, and what researchers call 'secondary trauma' in healthcare and social service workers who are supporting increasingly distressed populations.'
Looking at it from an economic through an economic lens, these impacts can lead to a vicious cycle.
A stressed-out worker is more likely to be absent from their job and be less productive.
Dr Alegado noted Australian businesses are reporting unprecedented turnover rates, warning 'we're losing institutional knowledge faster than we can rebuild it.'
'It's like trying to fill a bucket with holes in it - the economic cost of not addressing mental health is far greater than the investment required to support it,' she said.
'Taboo' topic widening generational rifts
When we look further into the impact of financial and work stressors on Australians, it is clear there is also a deeper generational divide that needs to be considered.
For Baby Boomers and pre-Boomers, the biggest reported stressors relate to health declines and loss, along with worrying about their loved ones' wellbeing.
Gen X are burdened by peak financial responsibilities, such as mortgages and retirement planning, while also managing health issues that can come with ageing.
Millennials are grappling with the financial strain of housing and childcare costs, while also juggling their family and work lives.
One in four in this generation said they feel overburdened daily due to career demands, family responsibilities and social expectations, citing a distinct lack of downtime.
Gen Z face intense stress of academic and early career pressures, all of which are heighten by social media and societal expectation.
The research found that close to 40 per cent of Gen Zers surveyed reported feeling behind financially or guilty about spending money.
When it comes to Gen Zers, Enriching Lives Psychology principal psychologist and owner Carly Dober said they are in the difficult position of being 'far worse off' than previous generations when it comes to many financial security measures.
'We have societal expectations and markers of adulthood now that are so much more difficult to achieve - or impossible for some Gen Zers,' she told news.com.au.
'This combined with shame and resentment about this, plus a certain percentage of the population telling them incorrectly that they 'just need to work harder' or other falsehoods show a lack of understanding of contemporary economic basics.'
This can also lead to intergenerational conflict and resentment.
The report also found there is a perceived hierarchy of struggles when it comes to discussing mental wellbeing topics, with tangible or 'universal' issues such as physical health problems or work viewed as more socially acceptable to discuss.
Australians find silent struggles, such as feelings of loneliness or lack of purpose, much harder to openly address, with people often looking to internalise and manage these stressors alone.
This conversation gap widens when it comes to discussing sensitive topics across generations.
For example, even though the majority of respondents said they generally feel comfortable discussing work-related stress, the level of discomfort increases, going from 27 per cent to 39 per cent when a person is talking to someone from a different generation,
Dr Alegado said this communication gap exists because each generation has developed different 'stress languages' based off their formative workplace experiences.
Baby Boomers and Gen X were taught to compartmentalise work stress as their 'neural patterns were shaped in environments where bringing personal struggles to work was taboo'.
They developed strong mindsets of the back of this, which is why when they hear younger generations discussing things like anxiety around work-life balance it can 'trigger' a strong response, as these coping mechanisms are so different from their own.
'Conversely, Gen Z and younger Millennials have grown up with psychological literacy - they have vocabulary for mental health concepts that older generations may never have learned,' Dr Alegado said.
'When they say 'I'm having anxiety about this project', they're often seeking understanding and support. But older colleagues might interpret this as inability to handle responsibility or professional weakness.'
Biggest challenges we need to address - now
There isn't just one thing that needs to be done or achieved to change Australia's attitude towards mental health, particularly around workplace and financial stress.
Being able to change the systems that allow these stressors to grow and fester is one of the key challenges Ms Dober says she faces.
In order to try mitigate this, she and her colleagues our outspoken advocates for policies and initiatives that can be adopted at a business and a government level to help improve the lives of workers.
This includes things like maintaining flexible work, increasing wages and having 'mentally healthy' and competent managers.
'On an individual level, it's about working with the person to try to support their stress levels in practical ways such as focusing on movement, sleep, good enough nutrition, connecting to friends and family, communication and sustainable boundaries in the workplace,' Ms Dober said.
Overall, Dr Alegado believes we need to start treating workplace and financial stress not as just individual problem, but something that is intertwined.
'We need to recognise that psychological wellbeing is infrastructure, just like roads or telecommunications,' she said.
'When we invest in mental health support systems, we're not just helping individuals - we're building the foundation for a more resilient and productive society.'