Workplace stress: three in five feel mental health has worsened this year

Three in five employees say their mental health has declined this year as a result of workplace stress – and more than half feel employers aren’t doing enough to help.

A survey of 2,000 people by recruitment firm Robert Walters found 60% of professionals said they were suffering from workplace stress.

When asked how often they felt this way, a third (33%) stated “very often”, with a further 27% saying “somewhat often”, and 31% identified it as happening “sometimes”.

Nearly half (46%) said concerns over job stability were their biggest contributor to workplace stress. This was followed by more pressure from management (23%), lack of a pay rise (19%) and taking on a heftier workload this year (13%). More than half (55%) felt their employer was not doing enough to help.

Long work hours, heavy workloads, tight deadlines, unclear job expectations, job insecurity, and conflicts with colleagues or supervisors were all other factors that contributed towards stress.

The ongoing mental health fallout from the pandemic and, increasingly, the cost of living crisis and, alongside this, rising mortgage rates are also all not helping with the mental health and wellbeing of many..

Nearly half (45%) of those polled felt it was down to senior leaders and HR to manage workplace stress, followed by line managers (34%). Just 18% said it was down to the individual to manage work-related stress.

Chris Poole, managing director of Robert Walters, said: “UK Employers spend an estimated £100-200 per employee on wellness initiatives and benefits every year – but our survey indicates they may only be applying a band-aid.

“Employers must strike the balance between not breaking the banks or piling pressure onto managers to solve workplace stress but still being proactive and listening to the needs of their employees.”