Half of bosses see increase in mental health issues

Research from the Peninsula Group, which surveyed 79,000 businesses across Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the UK, revealed that 43% of employers witnessed people talking more about their mental health, but only 12% of employees have confided in their bosses. One in seven of those who did speak to their boss said that nothing was done.

Employers in all four countries have seen an increase in the number of people talking about mental health in the last 12 months. The UK saw the biggest change with 64% of workers discussing the issue more openly.

In contrast, only 22.5% of those surveyed in Canada agreed with this statement. And 8.5% of workers saw no change at all.

One in four said they have noticed an increase sick leave because of mental health, but 90% of businesses do not offer mental health days to employees.

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The latest data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)  showed that the UK lost 17 million working days to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in the year 2021 to 2022 .

The research showed that nearly all (94%) employers said they’re available to help staff who are struggling with mental health concerns, but the data suggests that the support being offered by employers doesn’t match up with what employees want.

Less than 10% of bosses said that they are comfortable discussing their own personal mental health.

Canadian employers are more likely to offer mental health days in addition to personal leave entitlement than any other. 23% already offer them with another 15% planning to introduce them within the next 12 months.

In comparison, 81% of employers in Ireland and 67% in Australia do not offer mental health days or plan to introduce them in the next 12 months.

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Meanwhile, 85% of UK employers currently offer no mental health days and less than 10% of employers are planning to change this in the next 12 months.

In the UK, industry plays a big part in how comfortable employers feel when discussing mental health.

Nearly 30% of healthcare employers describe themselves as very confident about supporting employee wellbeing. However, none of the employers surveyed in the energy and utilities sector would say the same.

34% of employers in the leisure, sport and tourism industry described themselves as very confident. This was the highest rate out of all the industries surveyed.

The report highlighted that healthy employees make for a healthy workplace and that it’s clear mental health stigma in the workplace is beginning to change.

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The report’s authors said it was encouraging to see employers comfortable about having conversations around both their own and their employees’ mental health, despite the rise cost-of-living and inflationary pressures.

Peninsula Group Chief Operations Officer Alan Price said: “With 17 million working days being lost in the UK due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety in 2021/22, it should be clear to any employer that mental health is an area they need to take very seriously. And that message seems to be getting through.

“Healthy employees make for a healthy workplace, so it’s encouraging that so many employers are comfortable having conversations around both their own and their employees’ mental health. 

"We’ve all seen the drastic impact that recent world events have had with many struggling to adapt to the ‘new normal’ - and business owners, especially SME’s, are no different. Many are under pressure like never before, and the cost-of-living crisis and rising energy costs are having a significant impact on employers and employees alike.”

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“People are speaking more openly about their mental health and prioritising work/life balance. It is, however, interesting to see such low uptake of EAP services from employers who have themselves experienced mental health issues over the last 12 months. Most overwhelmingly chose to speak to friends and family; use of the company EAP did not come in the top 3 responses in any of the four companies.

“So, while employers are offering this support to employees, they should also remember that the service is there to support everyone – regardless of seniority within an organisation.

“We can also see an element of robustness within the survey responses, with more than half of Irish employers reportedly seeing no increase in the number of people experiencing mental health issues in their workplace. 44% of Canadian and Australian employers have also seen no increase, whilst only 38% of UK employers can say the same.

“It’s clear that there is still significant work to be done in this area, but the willingness of people to speak about mental health concerns and a change in workplace attitude towards them certainly major steps in the right direction."

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