Younger workers aged 18-30 are more likely to have had a recent mental health challenge than their more senior colleagues, with 48 percent reporting suicidal thoughts or feelings, according to new research.

Axar.az reports citing Independent that a survey of 3,884 people over two years conducted by Accenture on behalf of This Can Happen – a conference focused on positive mental health in the workplace – revealed that almost half of 18-30-year-olds reported suicidal thoughts or feelings.

This is compared with 35 percent of older workers.

Despite being more likely to experience such thoughts, 45 percent of younger people admitted to “holding back” from talking about their mental health in the workplace, compared with 22 percent of older employees.

Younger staff also reported feeling more pressure in their lives than older colleagues, with four in 10 people aged 18-30 saying that work pressures affected them on a daily basis, while one in three worried about the mental health of someone close to them.

“Undertaking large scale insightful research programs that highlight the challenges faced by those entering the workforce is an integral part of what This Can Happen and Accenture are working towards.”