Poor mental health, particularly anxiety and low mood, continue to be the primary driver of calls to Zurich’s employee assistance helplines.
Zurich’s Corporate Risk report reveals anxiety and low mood accounted for one in three calls in 2024 (30%).
Anxiety remained the number one call category for the fourth year running and was responsible for nearly a fifth of calls (19%), while low mood made up more than one in 10 calls to the helpline (11%).
The report also revealed that calls about familial relationships were contributing to Britons’ worries.
Calls regarding a partner increased 16%, placing it in third place, while calls about family in general were up 4% year-on-year. In total this accounted for 12% of total call volumes in 2024.
Since the start of 2025, calls to the helpline have continued the same patterns with anxiety, low mood, partner issues and employment remaining the top four call categories.
Employment and caring worries
Employment concerns have also grown. Ranked sixth in 2023, these concerns have since increased 14% year-on-year to fourth place, while calls about work relationship issues also grew 118% year-on-year.
Meanwhile fears around redundancy have swelled leading call volumes to increase 39% year-on-year.
But care-related worries have also proven a growing cause of calls to Zurich’s EAP helpline, with calls relating to childcare up 31% year-on-year.
Similarly, the number of employees calling about eldercare concerns are up 41%.
Neurodiversity and mental health
Calls to the helpline regarding neurodiversity and other diagnosed mental health issues also saw year-on-year increases of 13% and 44% respectively.
Nick Homer, head of group risk at Zurich UK, said: “Our data shows that poor mental health is still the main reason employees are calling helplines, with anxiety the number one call category for the fourth year running.
“But we can see that other issues are emerging in response to labour market uncertainty and the rising costs of caring responsibilities.
“At a time when there are a multitude of issues impacting employees, it is more important than ever that employers offer proactive and preventative support.
“Our EAP offers guidance to individuals to help them resolve personal issues, which in turn supports their mental wellbeing and helps them to thrive at work.”
