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Health & Wellbeing
Depression levels double during COVID pandemic
The number of adults in the UK with depression has doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report.
Official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that almost one in five adults (19.2%) were likely to be experiencing some form of depression in June this year – almost double the 9.7% in the nine months from July 2019 to March 2020.
One in eight adults (12.9%) developed moderate to severe depressive symptoms during the pandemic, while a further 6.2% of the population continued to experience this level of depressive symptoms. Only around one in 25 adults (3.5%) saw an improvement over this period.
Of those experiencing some form of depression, 84.9% said feeling stressed or anxious was most strongly compromising their wellbeing.
The results have raised concerns that more people will experience mental ill-health as emergency support measures introduced by the government, including the furlough scheme and enhanced statutory sick pay, are wound down.
Tim Vizard, principal research officer at the ONS, said: “The research provides an insight into the mental health of adults during the coronavirus pandemic. Revisiting this same group of adults before and during the pandemic provides a unique insight into how their symptoms of depression have changed over time.
“Almost one in five adults were experiencing some form of depression during the pandemic, almost doubling from around one in 10 before the pandemic. Adults who were young, female, unable to afford an unexpected expense or disabled were the most likely to experience some form of depression during the pandemic.”
The research has heaped more pressure on employers to do more to protect the mental health and well-being of their workforce. It comes after a separate study by People Management and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) showed that two thirds
(67%) of employers found that managing employees’ fear and anxiety was their biggest challenge during the pandemic. Meanwhile, in the same survey, 70% of employers highlighted the challenge of ensuring staff were staying well both physically and mentally while working remotely.
Research from Canada Life showed that almost half (46%) of British workers carrying out their jobs remotely during lockdown said they felt more pressure to be “present” for their employer and colleagues, with more than a third (35%) reporting they had continued to work despite feeling unwell.
Of those who had worked through illness, 40% said this was because they didn’t feel they were sick enough to warrant a day off. However, more than a quarter (26%) also reported workload as a reason for not taking a day off, and 16% cited fear of redundancy.
