'Significant business risk' | 17 million days lost to mental health absences - HR urged to stop staff reaching crisis point

WIth Mental Health Awareness Week (11-17th May 2026) shining a spotlight on the importance of protecting wellbeing, figures reveal mental health problems are driving Britain’s long-term sickness crisis, with millions of employees taking extended time off due to stress, anxiety and depression.

Research from MetLife UK found nearly half (47%) of HR Directors and senior decision makers say mental health conditions are now among the leading causes of long-term sick leave in their organisation.

The findings come as a staggering 17.1 million working days were lost to mental health-related sickness absence in 2025 alone - making it one of the biggest causes of workplace absenteeism in Britain.

Women accounted for the majority of those lost days, with mental health amounting to 10.2% of all sickness days among women, compared with 7.3% of all sickness days among men.