The shocking statistics behind Mental Health in UK workplaces

Posted 6 years ago

Only 13% of people reported that they live with high levels of good mental health in a survey that was recently commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation.

The sad truth, is that poor mental health is rife in the UK at the moment – and even though stress, anxiety and depression are particularly common – with one in six workers experiencing one at any one time – there is still a huge stigma attached to it, that prevents people from asking for help, or even just talking about their mental health.

Mental Health in the Workplace

Many of us are also in the habit of thinking that mental health is a ‘personal’ issue and therefore isn’t a discussion for the workplace – but this simply isn’t true.

Any employee who is struggling with their mental health will not be working at their maximum, their productivity will be suffering, and they may not even be able to work at all. A government report shows that poor mental health costs UK business between 33 and 42 billion pounds every year, and over half of this cost is down to the loss of productivity!

Sometimes, it’s the workplace itself that is contributing to someone’s poor mental health…

Stress, in particular, has such a major impact on the workplace that it accounts for over 9 million sick days taken each year; and the main contributors to workplace stress, depression or anxiety are unrealistic deadlines, excess responsibility, workload pressures and lack of managerial support.

But many factors play a part in the quality of our mental health – our income, age, relationships, access to healthcare, housing, education, physical health, hereditary factors, lifestyle choices, and our working environment.

Two-thirds of people in employment have reported mental health problems; so investing in your mental health is not only in your best interests, but it’s in the best interests of your employer too. For every pound that an organisation invests in improving the mental health of their staff, they see an average of a £4.20 return!

It makes financial sense, and it’s a necessity for a happy professional and personal life for all of us.

Download our free Mental Health White Paper today to gain a better understanding of Mental Ill-Health in UK workplaces.

Other Mental Health Statistics

The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey: Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2014, published in 2016, reports that:

5.9 in 100 people had a generalised anxiety disorder
3.3 in 100 people had depression
2.4 in 100 people had phobias
1.3 in 100 people had OCD
0.6 in 100 people had a panic disorder
4.4 in 100 people had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
7.8 in 100 people had mixed anxiety and depression

The MHF also report:

1 in 6.8 people experience mental health problems at work
Research shows that 12.7% of sickness days can be linked to mental ill-health
Women in employment are nearly two times as likely to have a common mental health problem as men in employment.

Our Mental Health Awareness Training

Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Courses aim to remove the stigma surrounding mental health and get people talking about it! We also speak about how to manage mental ill health and the different types of mental health problems.

Our courses also provide a wellbeing toolkit!

Does this sound like something that could benefit you and your employees? Browse our full range of eLearning courses and get started with a free trial today!