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Why 2023 is a year for action on mental • 80% of respondents said they are
health required to work outside of their
As we head into 2023, there is little doubt contracted hours
that workplace mental health has become a
much more pressing issue in recent years. • 22% have had to take time off work due
According to the World Health Organization to stress during their careers
(WHO), around 15% of working-age adults • 27% do not feel able to speak to their
were estimated to have a mental disorder as manager about mental health issues
of 2019. Overall, it is estimated that 12 billion
workdays are lost annually due to depression As high as some of these figures are, these
and anxiety, costing the global economy trends have only gotten worse since the
nearly $1 trillion. start of the pandemic The WHO estimates
that COVID-19 triggered a 25% increase in
The causes of stress, anxiety or poor mental general anxiety and depression worldwide,
health in the workplace are numerous, with with workers across all industries experiencing
some of the most common including: stress, upheaval and uncertainty during the
lockdowns, whether due to the risk of losing
• Excessive workloads
their jobs or the pressures of working from
• High-pressure environments home in relative isolation.
• Workers’ dissatisfaction with their Since then, the workplace mental health
performance or the performance of crisis is only deepening, due to the cost
others of living crisis, the looming recession and
broader anxieties about the war in Ukraine
• A lack of managerial support and the climate emergency. This is driving
thousands of people out of the workforce, with
• Bad relationships with managers and analysis from Sky News showing that levels of
colleagues
economic inactivity among the long-term sick
• Overlong working hours jumped by 537,500 between the year to June
2019 and the year to June 2022, of which
• Uncertainty and upheaval in the 454,300 can be attributed to mental health
workplace conditions.
• Violence, threats or intimidation in the With the number of employed people with
workplace long-term mental health conditions also rising
by 816,400 over the same period, it is clear
Research carried out for Lanes Group’s 2019 that mental health needs to be at the forefront
whitepaper, “The Current State Of Mental of conversations about how companies can
Wellbeing In UK Workplaces”, offered further better support their workforce.
evidence of these trends. Our survey of more
than 1,000 working adults showed that:
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