Data from well-being and performance specialists GoodShape has revealed that over the course of the pandemic, mental health-related absences cost British employers an estimated GBP £17 billion. The research found that employees took a collective 125 million days off work, 57% of which were taken by females.
The UK Mental Health & Wellbeing Alert report showed an 8% increase in lost working days during the pandemic compared to the two years before. Employees, on average, took 16 days off work per each mental health-related absence during the period and the data also indicated that over half of workers who take two or more mental-health-related absences will go on to leave their jobs.
However, medical infections were reported as the main reason for absence with a total of 133 million working days lost which cost UK employers £18 billion. Mental health was second followed by non-medical-related absences (including non-confirmed COVID-related absences including isolation and care of dependents) in third.
The astronomical toll that mental-health related absences have on employers shows that there is an extreme need for HR and businesses to provide a duty of care to employees. This includes enabling access to mental health resources, offering mental health first aid training to staff and focusing on prevention rather than cure.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
