UK,
19
January
2016
|
12:27
Europe/London

Disclosing mental health issues to bosses affects job prospects, say majority of UK adults

More than half of UK adults believe telling a senior manager about a mental health issue would harm their career prospects, according to latest findings from the Simplyhealth/YouGov Everyday Health Tracker.

The research shows that 50% of workers feel half or more of their colleagues are currently stressed or anxious because of work.

And just under half (45%) of UK adults say they are unlikely to discuss feeling stressed with their manager, and only a third (32%) feel their employer would be supportive if they had to take time off work for stress.

Increased workloads, not feeling valued and financial worries are the biggest contributors to workplace stress , according to the findings.

One in 20 adults say their employer offers stress relief/relaxation services and around a fifth (18%) say their employer offers workplace counselling.

Romana Abdin, Chief Executive, Simplyhealth
These figures highlight how common workplace mental health issues are with the majority of workers reluctant to discuss concerns with their employer because they fear it will affect their job prospects.

Creating a positive culture towards mental health needs to be a priority for all organisations and employers can do this by taking a proactive approach by providing benefits such an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) or introducing flexible working as part of a wellbeing programme, which will help to create a happy, healthier and more productive workforce.
Romana Abdin, Chief Executive, Simplyhealth

Other topics covered in the Everyday Health Tracker include smoking, drinking and eating habits, the types of health practitioner people visit and the health and wellbeing products they buy.  The full report is available to purchase from YouGov at ReportsSales@yougov.com. A summary of findings is available at http://reports.yougov.com/services/everyday-health-tracker/.

Methodology

For the Simplyhealth/YouGov Everyday Health Tracker, YouGov commissioned a survey among its online panel between 26 – 30 October 2015, drawing on a nationally representative sample of 2,019 UK adults aged 18+.