Mental Health at Work 2019

The fourth Mental Health at Work report, by Business in the Community in partnership with Mercer Marsh Benefits and the BITC leadership team, highlights that employers can and need to do more to take ownership of the mental health of their people.

This year’s report evidences that awareness and positive action around mental health in UK workplaces is increasing. However, it also uncovers the extent to which poor business practices and cultures are contributing to psychological harm experienced by employees.

• Two in five (39%) employees have experienced poor mental health due to work, or where work was a contributing factor, in the past year, up from 36% in 2017 and 2018.
• The three main causes of work-related poor mental health are too much pressure (52%), workload impacting on their ability to take leave (36%), and negative work relationships (33%).
• More than six in 10 (62%) managers have had to put the interests of their organisation above staff wellbeing either sometimes, regularly or every day. This is causing trust in managers to deteriorate, as the proportion of employees that feel their manager is genuinely concerned about their wellbeing fell to 57% from 60% in 2018.

It’s time for employers to put good work into practice, address the root causes of mental health issues in the workplace and create a culture of health where people have the support, confidence and platform to speak up. Download the full report and learn more about the recommendations for action.