Facts and figures about mental health and employment.
- one in six women and one in nine men are likely to require treatment in a
psychiatric unit during their lifetime, yet only a minority of these will suffer long-term or permanent disability
- more than one million people claim incapacity benefit for mental health problems.
- 3 in 10 employees will experience mental health problems during a single year and virtually anyone is susceptible to psychiatric illness
- 80 million workdays are estimated as being lost each year to stress, depression and anxiety
- 10% estimated proportion of GDP lost due to work related stress
- it costs an estimated £9bn per year in salaries to employers not addressing mental health problems in the workplace.
- 90% of people with mental health problems want to work.
- only 20% of people with severe mental health problems are employed, compared with 65% of people with physical health problems and 75% for the whole adult population. Even for people with more common types of mental illness, such as depression, only about half are competitively employed.
- 40% of people with mental health problems say that they were denied a job because of their history of psychiatric treatment and 60% say they have been put off applying for a job as they expect to be dealt with unfairly.
- 38% of employers say they would not employ someone with a mental illness
- 45% of employers think that none of their staff would be suffering from mental health problems
- 8 out of 10 company directors say that their company has no formal policy to deal with stress and mental ill health and only 14% of those with a policy thought it was effective
- 1 in 3 employers think people with mental illness are less reliable than other employees
- 80% of employers agree that more support is required to improve the way businesses deal with mental health in the workplace.
Mental Health Foundation research found that 47% of people who had experienced mental distress said that they had experienced discrimination in the workplace, and 37% had experienced discrimination when seeking employment.
A review published by the Department of Work and Pensions in September 2006 found that being in work is good for your mental health - while people who are unemployed can have higher suicide rates.
Sources: Shift, Shaw trust, Employers Forum on Disability, Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, Mind, Rethink, Mental Health Foundation, Institute of Employment Studies, CBI, Guardian Society 14/11/007
Last reviewed 27 Sep 2008
