Poor mental health sees hundreds of thousands of people leaving their jobs every year

By Sally Robertson, B.Sc.Oct 26 2017

Poor mental health causes up to 300,000 people to leave their jobs every year, according to a review called “Thriving at Work.”

Credit: fizkes/Shutterstock.com

The review also claims that mental health problems cost the UK economy as much as £99bn each year.

NHS England are to implement the recommendations made in the report regarding how employers and the government can increase the likelihood of employees staying at work.

The recommendations include creating a mental health work plan and building awareness about mental health; encouraging good working conditions, a healthy work-life balance and regular open conversations about staff health and well-being; routinely monitoring employee mental health and promoting effective people management.

The report also recommends that companies include a section on mental health in their annual reports, which is something the review found only 11% of companies currently do.

Chief executive of the charity Mind, Paul Farmer, says the issue of mental health is often treated as a taboo subject in workplaces and that opportunities are missed to prevent poor mental health and ensure employees who may be struggling get the support they need: "In many instances employers simply don't understand the crucial role they can play, or know where to go for advice and support."

The review found that people with long-term mental health issues are leaving their jobs at twice the rate of individuals without such problems and that the cost to employers is an estimated £42bn per year.

The government has said it is considering the changes to legislation that have been suggested.