Running on empty | Burnout & stress costing the UK economy £28bn a year

A whopping £28billion was lost to workplace stress and burnout last year, a new report has found.

The height of the pandemic ushered in heightened awareness of the alarming burnout levels in the UK, and new data and economic modelling from AXA UK and Centre for Business and Economic Research (Cebr) has laid bare the financial impact the businesses are facing when their employees are worked to breaking point.

Indeed, the majority of this 11-figure sum was due to loss of working days because of stress, burnout and general poor mental health, with firms losing 23.3million working days as a result of these issues.

The AXA Mind Health Study, a survey of 30,000 people aged 18-74 from 16 European, Asian and American countries, found that more than a fifth (21%) of UK adults are in emotional distress, defined by the study as ‘struggling’, and a further quarter (26%) have an absence of positive wellbeing, defined in the study as ‘languishing’. This means almost half of the UK are currently not in a positive state of mental wellbeing and at risk of burning out, which is having a significant impact on the economy and businesses across the UK.