Mental Health Matters: Supporting and Retaining Young Professionals (passed)
Watch the video recording of the event here.
Download the literature review supplement on Young Adult Worker Mental Health.
Mental Health Matters: Supporting and Retaining Young Professionals
Young adults are a driving force behind the Great Resignation, with surveys showing that nearly 65% of Gen Z workers are planning to leave their jobs in 2022. There is a public debate about the reason for this dramatic shift in the workforce, but new data suggests that one motivating factor could be young workers’ desire for jobs that support their mental health.
This Virtual Town Hall will provide a summary of what the research is telling us about key mental health and well-being factors important to young working adults. It will also feature a panel of early career professionals and mental health advocates sharing their perspectives on issues most important to young adults as they navigate the workplace in this new era of COVID-19 and the resulting focus on employee well-being.
Join us to learn more as organizations increasingly recognize the value and importance of retention and better understanding what matters most to this demographic. After all, today’s young working adults represent the future leaders in every organization.
Moderator: Mark Simon (he/him), MPH Candidate, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Intern, APAF Center for Workplace Mental Health
Panelist 1: Rachel Hallstrom (she/her)| Lead HR Specialist – GE Aviation Organizational and Talent Development
Panelist 2: Ali Rivera (she/her/ella) | Program Associate, Programs & Partnerships, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health
Mark Simon, BBA
Mark graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Cincinnati and worked in corporate finance for eight years before transitioning to a mental health career in 2020. He worked for Mental Health America of Northern Kentucky & Southwest Ohio and founded a mental health speaking and consulting business. Mark is now pursuing a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC, Mark serves as a graduate research assistant for the Carolina Center for Total Worker Health and Well-being, cohort representative, and Director of Health & Wellness for Graduate and Professional Student Government. He is currently a Summer 2022 intern for the APAF Center for Workplace Mental Health.
Rachel Hallstrom
Rachel is in the employee experience space and can truly say it is where she wants to be. Her life and business experiences have shaped her perspective and taught her the importance of creating a safe and inclusive workplace where people can bring their authentic selves to work and thrive. She is committed to this mission and approaches her work with an open and collaborative style. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a California native to her core. She loves the beach, yoga, running and reading.
A proud working mother to one rambunctious three-year-old, Rachel serves on the leadership team for GE Aviation’s Disability Advocacy Network. She is an advocate for workplace mental health and brings a unique perspective to the workplace as she lives with two unseen disabilities and is a caretaker for two individuals living with disabilities.
Ali Rivera, BS
Ali Rivera is a proud Latina and a strong advocate for equitable access to quality mental health supports for all individuals. For over five years, she has worked with local and national nonprofits to build and facilitate programs serving underrepresented populations. Currently, she supports grantmaking and partnerships at the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health as a program associate. Since 2018, her interests have evolved within public health communications and project management, through her work with both the American Public Health Association’s Mental Health Section and Latinx Voces, LLC. Ms. Rivera holds a B.S. in public health science and will pursue an MPH at Boston University in the fall.