19 workplace mental health statistics for 2024

What are the top mental health issues caused by the workplace?

Workplace culture,  environment, and mental health go hand in hand. They can all significantly affect each other. To understand how to su pport and manage mental health issues, it’s important to understand the types of issues common in today’s workforce. 

• The most common mental health issues in the workplace are anxiety, depression and stress [1] 
• 60% of employees experience at least mild symptoms of anxiety [2]
• Depression is also high in the UK workforce. 56% of employees experience at least mild symptoms of depression and 25% report clinically relevant symptoms of depression [2]
• 76% of employees are experiencing moderate to high levels of stress, with workload being the most frequently reported stressor at work [2] 
• One in five employees feel that the loneliness of remote working has affected their mental health, while 22% struggle with the blurring of boundaries between home and work [3]

What percentage of the workforce has mental health issues?

It can be easy to assume that if your employees aren’t talking about their mental health that everything is ok. It’s important you offer employees a variety of channels to speak up and share how they’re feeling, so you can be confident they have every opportunity to speak up and be heard. The statistics below show just how many employees are affected by mental health. 

• 1 in 7 people experience mental health problems in the workplace (15%) [4]
• 50% of employees have experienced at least one characteristic of burn out due to greater job demands and expectations, lack of social interaction, and lack of boundaries between work and home life [6]
• 8% of workers are miserable in their workplace [7]
• Nearly three in five employees (59%) have experienced negative impacts of work-related stress in the past month [8] 
• 77% of employees have experienced burnout at their current job, with the top driver of burnout being a lack of support and recognition from leadership [9]

How does poor mental health impact the workplace?

Poor mental health has a huge impact on your employees, your team, and your business. The cost of poor mental health is one that has far reaching consequences on team performance, quality of work, and your organisation’s bottom line. 

• Mental ill health costs UK businesses approximately £65 billion each year [10]

• Twelve billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety alone [12]
• The total cost of mental health related staff absenteeism and presenteeism is £33 – 42 billion annually [13]
• 89% of employees with mental health issues say it impacts their working life. More than half of these have considered resigning from a job because it negatively impacted their mental wellbeing [14]
• 40% of employees who experience stress notice a reduction in the quality of the work they produce, and just over one in four (26%) believe work-related stress affects their relationship with colleagues [2]

Why is mental health important in the workplace?

When employees don’t feel their best they are unable to do their best work. This can have an effect on themselves and the team around them. Putting effective mental health support in place improves the health of your team and your organisation’s bottom line.

• Only 13% of employees feel comfortable discussing their mental health in the workplace [15]
• UK businesses can save up to £8 billion annually by providing better mental health support for their employees [16]

• For every £1 spent by employers on mental health interventions, employers could get back £5.30 in reduced absence, presenteeism, and staff turnover. [10] 
• Happy employees are 13% more productive, on average [17]. 

The best workplace mental health resources

Unsure how to get started on the best mental health support to provide your employees in 2024? Take a look at Stribe’s resources below. 

How to create a workplace that talks about mental health

The best employee survey questions to ask to understand your employees’ mental health

Understanding the employee mental health expectation gap

How to make mental health a part of normal conversation

How to improve mental health in the workplace

Everyone has the right to work in a safe, healthy, and happy working environment. An effective first step is to ensure that your team feels confident to talk about anything by making mental health conversations as easy as possible for your business.

If you’d like a platform that gives employees the confidence to talk, we’re here to help.

Stribe’s pulse surveys and always-on employee voice messenger give employees multiple ways to speak up, especially those who traditionally feel more isolated or lonely.

Stribe connects people, helping them feel happier, safer, and heard in their daily work life. Simple.

If you’d like to learn more, you can get in touch here 😃

References

1. championhealth.co.uk/insights/spot-mental-health-issues-at-work
2. championhealth.co.uk/insights/employee-wellbeing-statistics/ 
3. silvercloudhealth.com/hubfs/Whitepapers/SCH_Template_2022_Whitepaper_WorkplaceWellbeing
4. gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/212266/hwwb-mental-health-and-work.pdf
5. nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_353899.pdf
6. mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/blog/10-workplace-mental-health-statistics-2022/ 
7. benefitspro.com/2022/12/30/mental-health-in-the-workplace-2023
8. apa.org/pubs/reports/work-well-being/compounding-pressure-2021 
9. deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/burnout-survey.html
10. deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/consultancy/deloitte-uk-mental-health-report-2022.pdf 
11. www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_353899.pdf 
12. who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/promotion-prevention/mental-health-in-the-workplace
13. The Stevenson Farmer Review
14. mypossibleself.com/blog/mental-health-workplace-uk-crisis-eight-statistics/ 
15. mentalhealthmidlands.co.uk/articles/mental-health-issues-in-the-workplace-5-statistics
16. mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/statistics/mental-health-work-statistics
17. ox.ac.uk/news/2019-10-24-happy-workers-are-13-more-productive