Just 5% of employees would speak to their line manager about their mental health, according to a poll from Vitality.
The survey of 2,000 UK adults also found 41% of workers had considered taking time off work due to stress, burnout or poor mental wellbeing.
This was even more pronounced for younger adults with 53% of Gen Z workers (born between 1997 and 2012) saying they had considered taking time off in the past 12 months due to these conditions.
Earlier this month, at Health & Protection’s Global Mobility and Health Summit, Ian Cooke, audit, consultancy and culture change director at the British Safety Council, told delegates mental health was being undersold as a business risk.
Though more positively, it is one of the areas organisations are prioritising for new staff wellbeing investment over the next 12 to 18 months, according to Aon’s UK Benefits and Trends Survey 2025.
‘Falling through the cracks’
Dr Arun Thiyagarajan, CEO of VitalityHealth, (pictured) said: “This new research highlights that if support depends on waiting for people to escalate serious concerns, too many people will fall through the cracks.
“Businesses who move to a proactive and visible model of support, can make it easy for employees to access help independently and at an earlier stage.
“That means offering a range of options people can engage with in different ways, whether that’s digital tools to manage day-to-day mental wellbeing, structured self-help support, or access to therapy, all without unnecessary barriers or delays.
“By making support more visible and easier to access, employers can help people act earlier, improving both individual outcomes and overall business performance.”
