A recent survey by Robert Walters, which surveyed 3,000 professionals across the UK and Ireland, found that a staggering 83 percent of UK professionals report poor mental health at work over the past year.
While 71 percent of UK employers offer wellbeing benefits, including mental health support, cycle-to-work schemes, healthcare vouchers, and discounted gym memberships, only 42 percent of professionals feel adequately supported. Notably, 58 percent view these programmes as mere “box-ticking exercises” rather than genuine efforts to address their mental health needs.
Habiba Khatoon, Director of Robert Walters Midlands, said, “While it’s encouraging to see that many employers have been ramping up their wellbeing benefits – the figures speak for themselves, efforts are still falling short when it comes to meaningfully supporting professional’s wellbeing.
“With past aspersions of the UK adopting a ‘sicknote culture’ its important employers can not only empathise with, but adequately support their employee’s wellbeing to avoid footing the cost of increased employee absences.”
According to Ipsos, mental health has overtaken cancer and obesity as the most common health concern in the UK. The economic cost of poor workplace mental health is also significant, with an estimated £138 billion lost annually due to sickness.
Employee Wellbeing: More Than Box to Tick
The survey reveals a strong demand for robust wellbeing programmes. Twenty-nine percent of professionals consider such programmes the most important benefit when evaluating job offers, a figure that rises to 43 percent among HR professionals and 31 percent among general management. One-third of C-Suite professionals also prioritise wellbeing programmes over other benefits, such as travel and retail discounts or gym memberships.
Khatoon said, “Professionals are coming forward to demand that their employers do more to support their wellbeing at work – this isn’t an issue that’s limited to a specific industry or job-level. But the jury is out on whether the steps employers are then taking to heed their demands are having the desired effect.”
Despite the widespread availability of wellbeing programmes, less than 20 percent of employees have accessed mental health support in the past eight months. Of those who hadn’t, 58 percent stated that these types of benefits feel more like a ‘box-ticking exercise’ rather than provide any meaningful support, and a further 29 percent found that the services they’ve been offered need to be improved.
Recentring Employer Efforts
A concerning 67 percent of professionals feel their employers are not doing enough to promote meaningful wellbeing. Moreover, nearly 40 percent of senior leaders feel their increased investment in wellbeing is going unnoticed by employees.
“There is no overnight solution for improving mental health,” said Khatoon. “But employers must be dedicated to the creating a culture of open discussion and empathy in their workplace. This means adopting strategies such as mindful work practices e.g. respecting workhours and holidays, encouraging regular breaks and offering regular check-ins for employees.
“Those businesses who dedicate themselves to going the extra mile in supporting their staff’s mental health and wellbeing now, will reap the rewards of increased employee loyalty for years to come.”
