Employee Mental Health: UK Employers Lost £45 Billion a Year

New Report highlights spiralling cost which has increased by 16% in just two years

Professional services network Deloitte has just published their ‘Mental health and employers: Refreshing the case for investment’ report, which revisits results from their previous research published in 2017.

The report shows that the annual cost to employers of mental health related issues in the workplace has risen to £45 billion, predominantly due to increases in both presenteeism and leaveism.

 

Presenteeism occurs when a member of staff is physically present in the office, but not working at their optimum performance level, often when ill employees come into work instead of taking sickness leave. This is partially attributed to increases in workload and perceived job insecurity. The cost of presenteeism is estimated at between £27 and £29 billion, the largest portion of the £45 billion overall figure.

 

Leavism is defined as improper use of an employee’s free time, i.e. working outside of working hours. Again, increased workloads are a factor here, in addition to prevalence of workplace technology allowing an ‘always on’ culture where certain tasks can be completed remotely.

 

Another major cost highlighted by the report is staff turnover. The price involved in having to hire and train new employees following the exit of those affected by poor mental health is estimated at around £9 million.

 

 

There is good news for those willing to address the issue, however. The report shows that now there is an even stronger case for investing in the mental health of your workforce, with a return of investment of £5 for every £1 spent on mental health, compared to a £4 ROI in 2017.

 

Instances of presenteeism can be very difficult to identify. Bodet’s Job Costing Software Module can provide data on productivity levels, allowing you to see if these are dropping and potentially revealing the issue. Our Time & Attendance Systems also provide alerts when staff members are working additional hours, providing visibility of leavism.

 

By using Bodet’s Absence Management Software Module, you can also improve your staff wellbeing strategy by using it to monitor KPIs such as the Bradford Factor. This allows you to identify absence patterns linked to causes such as stress so you can support staff before long term absence occurs.

 

For a free onsite demonstration to see how Bodet’s Time & Attendance Solutions can be used to identify and assist with issues within your workforce, please contact us.