Two in five workers experienced symptoms of work-related mental health issues in 2018

Mercer Marsh Benefits have released their annual report on Mental Health in collaboration with Business in the Community and their Wellbeing Leadership Team.

A report from Mercer earlier in the year painted a problematic picture of British business leaders on the topic of mental health, and this annual report has further demonstrated the lack of progress on the matter.

The results from the study showed that 2 in 5 workers experienced symptoms of work-related mental health issues in the last year. 62% of participants had experienced this at some point in their career which is a severe increase from the 20% of participants in Mercer’s 2017 study. When questioned about the main features of this increase, the clear picture painted was of a corporate culture in Britain that expects more for less.

When surveyed, 52% of participants said that the reason they experienced stress at work was pressure through too many priorities or targets, which was the predominant outcome. Other results included having to work overtime and/or rarely taking leave (36%), not feeling supported in their role (35%), not feeling like they could trust their manager (33%), feeling underpaid (28%), bullying and harassment from managers (24%) and, bullying and harassment from colleagues (14%).

With mental illness becoming more and more widespread in the UK (1 in 4 individuals currently suffer at least one episode throughout their lives), companies need to look at fundamental new approaches to maintain the wellbeing of their workforce. The opinion is that failure to do so could lead to awful consequences for their business and their reputation.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

If you feel that any or all of these findings regarding work-related mental health issues seem to apply to your current employment, get in touch today for a free initial consultation. Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page or, call us on 0113 200 9787 to find out how we can help you.