Why So Many Young Men Are Giving Up on Work | Tanveer Ahmed

Why are increasing numbers of young men withdrawing from work—and what happens when people lose a sense of purpose, competence and belonging? Claire Lehmann speaks with psychiatrist and author Tanveer Ahmed about the growing number of men who have stopped working or looking for work, despite persistent labour shortages across the Western world. Ahmed argues that this phenomenon cannot be understood simply as unemployment or clinical depression. He describes a broader problem of demoralisation: people who are capable of functioning but have become stuck, disconnected and uncertain about what their lives are for. They discuss the changing status of ordinary work, the rise of mental-health and disability identities, welfare incentives, online entertainment, cannabis, declining community ties, immigration and the changing labour market for men. They also explore why work can provide something that money alone cannot: structure, competence, dignity and a feeling of being needed. The conversation asks a difficult question: have modern societies become exceptionally good at satisfying our desires while becoming worse at giving people meaningful roles? Tanveer Ahmed is a psychiatrist and author of Fragile Nation, In Defence of Shame and The Exotic Rissole. READ TANVEER'S ARTICLE Men Without Meaning — Tanveer Ahmed https://quillette.com/2026/07/28/men-without-meaning/ MORE FROM TANVEER AHMED Tanveer Ahmed's Quillette author page: https://quillette.com/author/tanveer-ahmed/ BUY TANVEER AHMED'S BOOKS Fragile Nation — Tanveer Ahmed https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Fragile+Nation+Tanveer+Ahmed&tag=quillette-20 In Defence of Shame — Tanveer Ahmed https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=In+Defence+of+Shame+Tanveer+Ahmed&tag=quillette-20 The Exotic Rissole — Tanveer Ahmed https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=The+Exotic+Rissole+Tanveer+Ahmed&tag=quillette-20 CHAPTERS 00:00 — Why Men Need to Feel Useful 00:24 — Men Without Meaning 01:08 — Why Are Men Leaving the Workforce? 02:12 — The Cycle of Work, Welfare and Disability 03:35 — Why Men Are Opting Out of Work 05:36 — When Mental-Health Labels Become Status 08:51 — When Diagnosis Becomes Identity 11:24 — Status, Identity and the Loss of Community 13:28 — Are Welfare Incentives Keeping Men Out of Work? 15:19 — Why Staying Home Has Never Been Easier 17:26 — Have We Cured Boredom? 18:59 — Better Consumers, Worse Citizens? 22:24 — Why the Labour Market Is Changing Men's Lives 24:28 — Men, Work and the Dating Market 26:15 — Can Work Restore Purpose? 29:19 — Demoralisation Is Not Depression 30:41 — Immigration and the Value of Low-Paid Work 33:14 — Cannabis and Male Demotivation 35:49 — The Feedback Loop of Disengagement 36:28 — How Can We Make Men Feel Needed? 40:11 — When Mental Illness Becomes an Identity