More than a fifth of adults in the UK are in emotional distress – the worst outcome in a study of 16 major global countries.
In contrast Thailand and France appeared to be seeing their populations the strongest in terms of mental health, according to the research of 30,000 people aged 18 to 74 from 16 European, Asian and American countries.
Axa’s Mind Health study found 21% of people in the UK reported they were in emotional distress – more than any other country polled – the US (17%) and Germany (16%) ranked next on the list of countries.
A further 26% of people in the UK also reported that they were languishing in terms of their mental health, meaning almost half the country (47%) was suffering from negative mental health.
The UK only ranked behind Turkey (33%), Italy (33%), Japan (31%), Hong Kong (30%), Ireland (29%), and Belgium and Germany (both 27%) in terms of those who said they were languishing.
The study found 46% of people in the UK admitted to feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about the future and the UK’s cost-of-living crisis seemed to be having a particularly negative impact, the insurer said.
Additional data from Cebr has shown that financial stress and concerns among employees are costing UK businesses up to £6.2bn alone in sick days and lack of productivity.
While the report showed the UK reported the highest number of people who were struggling, across the globe the report also found that fewer people were struggling despite concerns over the cost of living and the economic consequences of current geopolitical tensions, with Thailand and France home to the most people who were flourishing.
But of those aged 18-24 globally, only one in 12 were categorised as flourishing, with more than half (54%) experiencing poor mental health.
One of the most pressing reasons cited by 38% was that tech addiction and social media use were having a negative impact on their wellbeing.
Employees were found to be three times more likely to flourish if offered mental health support at work and were also likely to stay longer – only 6% of those flourishing said they intended to leave their jobs in the near term.
There was also a gender disparity among the findings, with 24% fewer women than men flourishing – regardless of their age, personal circumstances or where they lived.
A third of women said they have been subjected to unwanted remarks about their gender, while 40% said their abilities had been questioned simply because they were women.
Both factors led to worse mental health outcomes for women.
To help address these ongoing issues and try and alleviate pressure on the economy and businesses, Axa UK is launching a Mind Health Meter.
The meter is designed to combat the risk of people getting to the point of struggling by helping them understand the state of their mind health, where they are on the meter and how they can shift the dial from struggling to flourishing in a way that works for them.