Jay Shetty sits down with Oxford economist Jan-Emmanuel De Neve to explore why work profoundly shapes our emotional lives, despite being rarely discussed. The conversation reveals that less than a quarter of people report high wellbeing at work, and that how we feel at work follows us home—affecting relationships, parenting, and social engagement. De Neve challenges the narrative that social media is the primary culprit of young people's struggles, instead pointing to rising costs, future uncertainty, and the quiet anxiety that hard work no longer guarantees success. They explore the relationship between money and happiness, discovering that beyond a certain threshold, more income doesn't increase fulfillment; instead, people crave connection, meaning, and time.
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Economic Precarity, Not Social Media, Is the Core Driver of Young People's Anxiety
De Neve challenges the narrative that social media causes young people's anxiety and depression, instead identifying rising costs, economic uncertainty, and the erosion of clear career pathways as deeper culprits.
✧Less than 25% of people report high wellbeing at work—a striking statistic that suggests work dissatisfaction is normalized
✧De Neve challenges the 'social media is the villain' narrative; instead identifies economic precarity and uncertainty as deeper drivers of young people's anxiety
✧The emotional tone of work bleeds into all other relationships and contexts—a direct pipeline from office to home