Wellness | 40% of employees struggle discussing mental health at work

New research from Breathe has revealed that 40% of employees are uncomfortable telling managers that they need time off to deal with mental health.

According to the ‘Sick Report 2019: the state of health and wellbeing in British SMEs’ which surveyed over 1,500 employees, 23% of employees admitted that they would rather have an unexplained absence than discuss mental health issued with their employer. And this is costing the UK economy £1.4billion annually.

Additionally, the research found that although 53% of SME decision-makers took no sick leave last year and of the portion that did, 14% of absences were due to stress and mental health.

Jonathan Richards, CEO at Breathe, commented: “Running a business is one of the most challenging things someone can do and our research shows mental health issues are prevalent at Board level too. This makes it all the more important for SMEs to focus on its company culture by prioritising employee health and well-being, this means leading from the front and practising what you preach. After all, employee and boardroom burnout is not conducive to business success.”