74% of young UAE workers say mental health is affecting their work: Report

Mental health is increasingly affecting younger workers in the UAE, with 74% of employees aged 18 to 24 saying their mental health has affected how they work, according to the latest Cigna Healthcare International Health Study, conducted in collaboration with YouGov.

The study surveyed more than 12,000 people across 13 markets and found that mental well-being has become the top health priority among UAE adults aged 18 to 24. Forty per cent of respondents in this age group said it was the area they most wanted to improve, up 15 percentage points from last year.

However, access to professional support remains limited. Only 6% of respondents aged 18 to 24 said they had received counselling or therapy in the past year.

The younger group also recorded declines across several well-being measures. Its vitality score fell 4.6 points to 66.6, making it the only demographic group in the UAE to record a decline. Mental well-being dropped 11 percentage points to 46%, while financial and workplace well-being also declined.

The findings contrast with the UAE’s broader well-being picture. The country’s overall vitality score increased to 73.8 from 73.3 last year, while overall well-being remained stable at 70%.

Seven in 10 UAE respondents said they could adapt to change, while 69% said they could recover from illness, injury or other hardship. Family well-being was the highest-rated pillar, at 71%.

Stress nevertheless remains widespread, with 82% of respondents reporting that they had experienced stress, although this was two percentage points lower than last year.

Despite these pressures, employees continue to report relatively high levels of commitment to their organisations. Seventy-six per cent said they were willing to work harder to help their organisation succeed, while 72% said they remained enthusiastic about their jobs.

Workplace well-being, however, declined three percentage points to 52%. Overall, 60% of UAE respondents said their mental health had affected how they work.

The findings also point to challenges in the relationship between employees and managers. Less than half of respondents, 49%, said they felt understood by their immediate manager, down five percentage points from the previous year.

Leah Cotterill, CEO of Cigna Healthcare Middle East and Africa outside Saudi Arabia, said the UAE’s resilience and adaptability provide a foundation for longer-term well-being, but support needs to account for differences between generations and life stages.

“Sustainable well-being depends on people being able to understand and access the support available to them,” Cotterill said, adding that employers, managers and healthcare providers have a role in making support easier to access.

The findings suggest that strong workplace commitment can coexist with declining well-being, particularly among younger employees. For employers, the report highlights the importance of making mental health and other forms of support more accessible while responding to the changing needs of different employee groups.