January 2021 was the “saddest” in the past ten years, according to official figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that for Britain’s mental wellbeing, this January was the worst on record.
The previous low came 2012, when the UK entered its first double-dip recession since the 1970s.
The ONS statistics reveal a “happiness score” of only 6.4 out of 10 for the month, compared to a decade-long average of 7.5. Figures even indicate that the UK is on track for the saddest first quarter of the decade too.
Sheffield-based Champion Health said that when set alongside its own recent mental health and wellbeing research.
During 2020, the workplace wellbeing provider found that 58% of a 2,099 employee sample reported some form of stress at work, while as many as 69% experienced moderate to high levels of stress in general.
In terms of anxiety, similarly concerning levels were reported. Nearly two thirds (63%) of individuals experienced at least mild symptoms of anxiety last year, while an even greater number (73%) said they had had trouble relaxing.
When it came to reporting on levels of depression, more than half (58%) of employees said they had experienced at least mild symptoms of depression, with over one in four (26%) reporting symptoms that were moderate to severe.
Nine in ten (90%) of respondents to Champion Health’s survey said that the pandemic has had at least some impact on their mental health, with 40% of those revealing this impact as moderate to significant.
Harry Bliss, co-founder of Champion Health, said: “Rather than relying on reactive strategies that only reach employees when they hit ‘crisis point’, proactive strategies work across the organisation to reduce the likelihood of these crises.”