BUSINESS
The cost of poor mental health on your business By Lesley Attwell, Senior Employee Benefits Consultant, Verlingue Mental health support is one of the most practical ways for employers to demonstrate that they genuinely care about their employees. As we progress through the pandemic, this is more important than ever, with one in four employees planning to leave their current jobs due to burnout or feeling unsupported by employers. With 41% of people experiencing mental health symptoms, businesses have a duty of care to promote the importance of better mental health. Happy, engaged employees are also productive ones, so business performance will be improved as well as morale and motivation being lifted.
❛❛ 70 million work
days are lost each year due to mental health problems ❜❜
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INVESTING IN MENTAL HEALTH
Mental health problems go beyond the financial, yet calculating the costsversus-benefits of intervention can be persuasive when making the case for investment. n 70 million work days are lost each year due to mental health problems The Mental Health Foundation. n P oor mental health is costing UK employers £45 billion a year. n £29 billion of this is from presenteeism – employees coming to work and underperforming because they are in poor mental health. n A Deloitte study found that for every £1 spent on intervention an estimated return of £5 could be expected. n Mental health-related staff turnover costs firms £8.6bn in the time taken to find and train a new employee to work to a level of full productivity.
