A new study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows individuals that suffer from mild to moderate mental illnesses, like anxiety or depression, are twice as likely to be unemployed, with an estimated Cost to UK Economy of £37 Billion a Year.
A reported 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience mental health issues every year and Jelf Employee Benefits believes that more work needs to be done in improving the more open culture, so addressing mental health problems is a good thing.
One of the biggest fears amongst sufferers is an employer seeing the condition as a problem.
Jelf believes that the way forward is by having a greater awareness of the role a GP plays and having a positive approach in the workplace regarding mental health.
Technical director for Jelf, Matthew Judge, says that stress is still the biggest contributor to absence, adding that companies which don’t offer many benefits to their employees are more likely to suffer from higher absence rates.
He commented: “Most importantly, those employers that actively encourage utilisation of those benefits, and engender a culture of support, are those that suffer less with employees absent from stress.
“Stress can be difficult to identify but when it’s one of the biggest causes of absence it cannot be ignored.
“April’s Stress Awareness month is a great time for employers to look again at their health and protection policies and make sure they’re making full use of all the support available and their staff know about it.”
