Human and financial cost of mental health in the workplace

Mental ill health is a major issue in today’s society that has both human and financial costs. The government-commissioned Thriving at Work Report (Farmer and Stevenson, 2017) estimates the cost to UK businesses to be between £33 billion and £42 billion. That’s £1300 per employee per year due to lost productivity, increased sickness absence and increased staff turnover.

Stigma surrounds mental health in the workplace

Despite a number of high-profile public figures ‘coming out’ about their mental health disorders, stigma still blocks people talking about poor mental health.

Research has found only 1 in 10 of employees feel comfortable disclosing a mental health condition to their line manager whilst only 24% of managers had received any form of mental health training (Business in the Community. Mental Health at Work Report 2017).

The ROI for implementing mental health training in the workplace

This year (2020), Deloitte revisited the business case for workplace mental health. It found the costs of poor workplace mental health had risen to £45 billion and that one in six of UK workers are now experiencing a mental health problem at any moment in time. That’s the bad news.

The good news is employers that invest in the mental health of their staff can now realise savings of £5.00 for every £1.00 spent.

Better mental health equals greater productivity

The financial returns from mental health awareness training include increased productivity and performance, decreased sickness absence and reduced staff turnover. Cost savings come in the form of reducing time covered for sickness absence.

If your company could benefit from Mental Health First Aid training, get in touch by filling out the form below.

Mental Health First Aid at work

Siemens experience training Mental Health First aiders within their organisation.