Quarter life crisis hits 8 in 10 young Singaporeans

They feel pressured to achieve success before they hit 30.

Eight in 10 (82.9%) young professionals in Singapore fall victim to quarter-life crisis, according to a survey from LinkedIn.

This ranks the lion city at fourth place out of ten markets where young professionals are expressing growing levels of dissatisfaction with their current standing in life. India scored top place at 89.9% followed by the Philippines (87.5%) and Hong Kong (87.2%).

Employees in their twenties to thirties feel a great deal of pressure to succeed in their careers, relationships or finances before they hit 30 which is roughly the same with their peers in Australia (80.2%) and the US (79.6%). The crisis is most likely felt between the ages of 25 to 28 years old with almost half (48%) claiming it plagued them for a whole year.

“The study seems to suggest a prevalent feeling of ‘performance anxiety’ amongst young professionals which make up a significant part of our workforce,” said Roger Pua, LinkedIn Senior Director, Brand Marketing and Communications (APAC & China).

Also read: Singapore is amongst least engaged in work in Asia 

The greatest issue weighing on the minds of young professionals is finding a job or career they are passionate about (63%) followed by comparing themselves with friends they deem more successful than they are (46%).

The ability to afford their desired lifestyle and finding a life partner is also a growing worry for young professionals at 44.3%.

Although property prices are on the rise as the real estate market is staging a comeback, it ranks relatively low on the priorities of young professionals at only 29.2%.

The survey revealed that the anxieties point to a larger theme of lack of direction professionals feel with their current careers and life. In fact, 61.2% of young professionals in Singapore say they are unsure about the next steps to take in their career, second only to the US at 65%.

Most professionals turn to their close friends (63.1%) for advice followed by family (53.7%) and partners (39.3%) although 12% are turning to social media to gain clarity about their career and life decisions.

“It’s important that they are able to manage it so it improves their well-being and productivity both at the personal and professional levels,” Pua added.