Wysa, the leading AI-guided mental health solution, has released its latest report, ‘Colleagues in Crisis’, which uncovers the extent to which UK employees are at risk of mental health crisis and how employers can best offer support. The report reveals an alarming 25% of UK workers had been bothered by thoughts that they would be better off dead, or of hurting themselves in the two weeks prior to the survey. This figure expands to over one in three (36%) when applied to the past year.
Based on research with 2,182 UK full- and part-time employees across all industries, the report shows UK workers experience high rates of the feelings commonly associated with severe depression and suicide risk while at work. This includes emotional distance from others (35%), a sense of isolation or withdrawal (32%), a sense of distraction or lack of humour (32%), dwelling on the past (28%), persistent feeling of hopelessness (25%), and contemplation of death (9%). Younger workers faced the most significant rates of symptoms, with nearly half (44%) of 18- to 24-year-olds experiencing emotional distance from others at work and 39% feeling a sense of isolation or withdrawal.
The data suggests employees also worry about their colleagues and don’t feel their employers are offering adequate help. Over the past year, 15% of UK employees experienced a colleague attempting, or losing their life by suicide, and 26% say they’ve felt concerned a colleague may harm themselves or take their own life. One in three (33%) believe their employer is overlooking serious mental health problems among their employees, and 41% feel mental health is simply treated as a ‘check box’ exercise in their workplace. To feel supported, 49% of workers would prefer an offer of professional help and 25% are interested in digital mental self-help tools as a solution.
“These statistics serve as a wake-up call for employers to recognize and address the mental health crisis within the workplace,” said Ramakant Vempati, president and co-founder at Wysa. “Even one person contemplating suicide or self-harm is too high. The average person will spend one-third of their lifetime at work, so UK companies have an opportunity to play a pivotal role in supporting individuals. Equipping the workplace with the tools and training to identify crises and provide critical interventions can prevent tragedies from occurring.”
The study polled workers from all industries and found real estate professionals have the highest occurrences of mental health crises. Over the past year, 61% of those working in real estate were bothered by thoughts of self-harm or suicidal ideation. This is followed by those in agriculture (54%), hospitality (51%), engineering (47%), manufacturing (45%), construction (45%), and retail (45%). When it comes to support from employers, a staggering 50% of those in real estate stated they have seen a manager respond inappropriately to a colleague showing signs or symptoms of mental illness in the past year, with hospitality (39%), agriculture (38%), and social care (38%) following behind.
“As the mental health crisis escalates to dangerous levels, the impacts on the workplace are profound,” Vempati added. “These findings underscore the critical need for comprehensive mental health assistance to create a culture of support and understanding. That starts with employers removing stigma and increasing access to mental health treatments.”
The full Colleagues in Crisis Report, including graphs and a breakdown by age, sex, and geography, can be found here: https://www.wysa.com/colleagues-in-crisis-uk
