YOUNG workers feel undervalued and overlooked, according to new research calling for urgent cultural and structural change in British workplaces.

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) warned that many workplaces risk disengaging the very people they need to retain.

Its survey of 500 workers aged 18-25 found half believed their employer prioritised the achievement of targets and performance expectations over their health and well-being.

The majority felt judged more on the targets they met than on their creativity or wider contribution.

IOSH vice-president Macauley Quinn said: “Young workers have so much enthusiasm, energy and talent to bring to any workplace and it’s vital to our economy, both now and in the future, that these positive qualities are harnessed and sustained.

“It’s not only a crying shame and a waste of talent and investment, but ultimately bad for business when young people’s contributions aren’t sustained and left to peter out.”