Weekly Wellbeing Insights

The UK employee takes an average 5.7 absence days per year (ONS, 2022)

The percentage of absence days in the UK that are related to mental health issues:

28% (Deloitte, 2022)

24.9% (NHS, 2022)

7.9% (ONS, 2022)

Men are 3x more likely to become dependent on alcohol (NHS Digital)

Of those who reach 90 days sober from alcohol:

81% report a reduction in anxiety (One Year No Beer, 2023)

71% report an increase in productivity (One Year No Beer, 2023)

53% report a decrease in body weight (One Year No Beer, 2023)

56% of employees aged 18 to 24 suffer from burnout at work (Engage Employee)

79% of UK employees report feeling close to burnout (CharlieHR, 2021)

Poor wellbeing costs UK employers £56bn annually (Deloitte, 2022):

Presenteeism: £28bn

Staff turnover: £22bn (up 150% from £8.6bn in 2019)

Absenteeism: £6bn

28 million UK adults (>50%) are more stressed due to the rising costs of living (FCA, 2023)

43% of companies now acknowledge the link between financial and mental wellbeing, up from 26% last year (CCLA, 2023)

According to our own data, financial stress is greater in the younger generations: 39% of 18-25 year olds often struggle to make ends meet compared to 21% of people aged 55+.

HR News estimate that financial stress costs the UK economy up to £51 billion and 17.5 million hours of lost work each year.

37.1% of women report high levels of anxiety, compared to 29.9% of men (ONS, 2023)

Fewer men access psychological therapies, representing only 36% of referrals to IAPT (Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies)

74% of UK suicides are by men (ONS, 2021)

Women are 3x more likely to experience common mental health problems than men (Mental Health Foundation)

On average, one man dies every minute by suicide (Movember)

7.1% of UK adults (~4 million) now experience ‘chronic loneliness’, up from 6% in 2020 (Campaign to End Loneliness, 2023)

60% of people suffering from chronic loneliness experience mental distress (Gov UK, 2023)

7% of UK adults suffer from chronic loneliness (ONS, 2023)

Only 13% of employees say they would feel comfortable opening up about a mental health issue at work (Mental Health Midlands, 2021)

Up to 75% of people don’t seek the help they need because of stigma and reluctance to be seen by a doctor.

34% of men would be ashamed or embarrassed to take time off work for a mental health concern, compared to just 13% for a physical health concern (Men's Health Forum)

46% of UK workers say that they have worked, within the last year, despite not feeling sufficiently well (mentally or physically) to adequately perform their duties (CIPD, 2022)

Our own data shows an average 11.4 presenteeism days each year per employee

Deloitte (2022) estimate the percentage of employees quitting their organisations for mental health reasons is 61%.

According to a CharlieHR study, 40% of UK employees admit to working more on evenings and weekends than they did before the pandemic (this rises to 51% in London)

45% of UK employees report feeling like they have to reply to work messages outside of work hours (CharlieHR)

82% of UK employees do not take their full lunch break entitlement, and 2 in every 3 regularly eat their lunch at their desks (StandOut)

The average UK worker commutes for 30 minutes each way. This is 5 minutes longer than the EU average of 25 minutes (European Commission, 2022), which over the course of the working year is an additional 43 hours.

4 in 5 UK employees say that work related stress affects their relationships with colleagues, family and friends (Mind The Workplace, 2022)

Work is cited as the top cause of stress for UK employees (Neuroworx, 2023):

Work: 39%

Financial worries: 34%

Family responsibilities: 29%

Health concerns: 28%

Social life and social media: 26%

70% of neurodivergent employees suffer with mental health issues (WTW, 2022), including work related stress, anxiety, depression, and financial stress