When one of your team is experiencing a mental health problem, it can impact all areas of their life. From lost sleep, strained relationships and difficulty concentrating at work. It can have a big impact on your business too. Analysis by Deloitte estimates that poor mental health costs UK employers £42 - £45 billion a year – a 16% increase since 20161. This comprises £7bn in absence costs, £27bn - £29bn in presenteeism costs and £9bn in costs of staff turnover1.
With approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK experiencing a mental health problem each year2, and UK SMEs losing 28 working days a year to poor mental health3, it’s more important than ever for business owners to support the mental wellbeing of their team.
What causes mental health difficulties in the workplace?
While mental health problems are very personal to each individual, there can sometimes be commonalities when investigating the causes. When it comes to mental health difficulties at work, research by Business in the Community found that the biggest causes were1:
Pressure - too many priorities or targets etc (52%)
Working overtime and/or rarely taking leave due to workload (36%)
Not being supported in my role (35%)
Negative work relationships (33%)
Work may not always be the sole cause of poor mental health amongst employees. However, being able to identify areas within the workplace that may be contributing towards increased levels of stress, which can exacerbate to, or trigger, a period of poor mental health can help business owners to identify where improvements can be made to particular processes or where HR issues may need addressing.