New data from HR and health & safety software provider BrightHR shows that poor mental health now accounts for 1 in 6 of all long-term sickness absences in the UK, compared to 1 in 12 in 2016.
The statistics come from BrightHR’s absence management software, which is used by over 64,000 companies and over 750,000 of their employees in the UK.
Key findings:
- Mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression and stress, now account for 16.5% of all sickness absences of four weeks or more in the UK, compared to 7.9% in 2016
- Instances of long-term sickness absence caused by poor mental health have been steadily rising year-on-year since 2016, and peaked in 2021 at a high of 16.8%
- Of the mental health concerns recorded, stress is now the biggest contributor to long-term sick leave, making up 42% of all long-term mental health-related sickness absences in 2024, followed by anxiety (27%), general mental health issues (17%) and depression (14%)
Commenting on the findings, Alan Price, CEO at BrightHR says, “Today, poor mental health is responsible for 1 in 6 long-term sickness absences in the UK, a significant increase from 1 in 12 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While we’ve known about the growing crisis in mental health for a while, with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reporting in 2023 that 17 million working days were lost in the UK in 2022/23 due to stress, depression, or anxiety, the impact of this epidemic on longer-term sick leave of 20 days or more is now clearly beginning to show in the data.
“Interestingly, our statistics suggest that mental health-related absences peaked in 2021 as the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis were felt by workers across the UK. Since then, however, long-term absences due to poor mental health have continued to hover at around 14-17% each year, suggesting that this is a trend that is set to continue unless significant action is taken.
“According to a recent report by Lord Darzi, health challenges in the UK have today reached ‘historic proportions’, with around 900,000 more working-age Britons now economically inactive than at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Our findings suggest that while post-pandemic economic inactivity is still driven by long-term health conditions and poor physical health, poor mental health is increasingly, and worryingly, becoming a major cause of long-term absence in the UK.
“While the Government has pledged to tackle mental health issues through various initiatives, including modernising the Mental Health Act, improving working conditions as part of its ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’, recruiting 8,500 more mental health staff, and delivering on more NHS appointments, employers must also play their part. It’s crucial for business owners to take proactive steps to support their staff’s wellbeing, ensuring that poor mental health does not lead to long-term absence and reduced productivity.
“Employers have a legal duty to protect the mental wellbeing of their staff and make reasonable adjustments to support employees with their mental health and reduce work stressors. This should include fostering an open and supportive work environment, providing access to mental health resources such as EAPs, and ensuring that staff feel valued and understood.”