The extent of the problem — recent evidence

The mental health charity Mind reported last year that work is the biggest cause of stress in people’s lives, with one in three people (34%) saying that their work life was either very or quite stressful. It found that work outranked debt and financial problems (30%) and health (17%) as the major cause of stress. The survey of over 2,000 people found that workplace stress has resulted in seven per cent (rising to 10% among 18 to 24-year-olds) having suicidal thoughts and one in five people (18%) developing anxiety. More than half (57%) said they drink after work and one in seven (14%) drink during the working day to cope with workplace stress and pressure. Other coping mechanisms people cited were smoking (28%), taking antidepressants (15%), over the counter sleeping aids (16%) and prescribed sleeping tablets (10%).

It also found a culture of fear and silence about stress and mental health problems is costly to employers:

• one in five (19%) take a day off sick because of stress, but 90% of those people cited a different reason for their absence;

• one in 10 (9%) have resigned from a job due to stress and one in four (25%) have considered resigning due to work pressure;

• one in five (19%) felt they couldn’t tell their boss if they were overly stressed;

• of the 22% who have a diagnosed mental health problem, less than half had actually told their boss about their diagnosis; and

• over half of managers (56%) said they would like to do more to improve staff mental wellbeing but they needed more training and/or guidance. Almost half (46%) said they would like to do more but it is not a priority in their organisation.