The costs of inaction

The costs of not taking action are huge. More than half (55%) of Britain’s working days lost to ill health in 2019/2020 — almost 18 million — were due to work-related mental ill-health. The landmark 2017 Farmer/Stevenson report, Thriving at Work, estimated an annual cost to employers of between £33 billion and £42 billion — with over half due to “presenteeism”, when individuals are less productive due to poor mental health despite spending more hours at work. The cost to taxpayers and government is between £24 billion and £27 billion, including costs in providing benefits, reduced tax revenue and costs to the NHS. The total cost to the economy through lost output is between £74 billion and £99 billion.