Study highlights mental health challenges of UK employees

Work is a major contributor to mental health challenges, the report also found, with 45% of UK workers surveyed reporting that they had experienced stress at work. Additionally, 38% said that their workload undermines their mental health, according to the research.

The study gathered online responses from over 12,200 employees across 12 countries: the UK, Germany, Spain, the US, Australia, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, UAE, India and China.

In the UK findings, younger workers were more likely to have experienced or be experiencing mental health challenges, with 68% of ‘gen Z’ respondents and 60% of ‘millennial’ respondents reporting this, compared with 52% of ‘gen X’ and 32% of ‘baby boomer’ respondents.

Around one third of UK workers ( 35%) surveyed agreed with a statement that there is stigma in the workplace associated with mental health challenges.

Across the global results, nearly two thirds ( 65%) of participants agreed that it’s extremely or very important for employers to prioritise the mental health of their workforce.

The majority of workers surveyed ( 85%) felt that their employers care about their employees’ mental health in organisations where senior leaders are vocal about the topic. In comparison, 34% of respondents felt that their employer cares when they are silent.

Poppy Jaman, chair of GBC and founder and executive vice-chair, MindForward Alliance, said: “The message from the research is clear: the more senior leaders speak up about the topic of mental health, the more the global business community can build, foster and embed supportive cultures in their workplaces. Through open and honest communication and inclusive behaviours around the topic of mental health, leaders can aid and empower a healthy and resilient workforce.

“There’s a measurable impact for businesses too. If those feeling unsupported in the workplace lack motivation and have regular feelings of wanting to quit, the reverse is true for organisations which do support them, all of which can have a positive impact on businesses globally. The sooner workers feel able to disclose difficulties affecting them, the sooner they can get the support they need, enabling them to thrive in their personal lives as well as professional lives. 

“Now more than ever, addressing workers’ mental health and wellbeing – at all levels, cultures, and across all sectors and industries – is a business and societal imperative at the heart of employers’ duty of care. We are calling on senior leaders in the UK and the world over to mainstream good mental health practices – from the top down, making it a core business priority.”

Launched in 2021, The Global Business Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health is a business-led initiative advocating for better mental health in the workplace. Its founding partners are BP, BHP, Clifford Chance, Deloitte, HSBC, Sodexo, Unilever, Visa and WPP.

The GBC’s ‘Mental Health in the Workplace: a Global Picture’ report reflects the responses of 12,211 employees from 12 countries – UK, Germany, Spain, USA, Australia, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, UAE, India and China – with at least 1,000 respondents surveyed in each.

All respondents were aged 18 to 65 in full-time or part-time paid employment. The research included blue and white collar roles and both managerial and non-managerial positions. The survey was a 10-minute self-complete online survey conducted by Kantar on behalf of GBC. Quotas were set on age, gender, region, and manager status, which varied per market. Data were weighted to a representative profile of the employed population on age and gender and to a nationally representative profile on region, based on available statistics. Fieldwork was completed between 27th July-30th August 2023.