More than half of all sickness absence days can be attributed to mental health conditions. It is estimated that economic losses caused by mental health problems account for about 4.1% of the UK GDP and that better mental health support in the workplace can save UK businesses up to £8 billion per year.
Researchers analyzed data from almost 20,000 people aged between 16 and 65 across 20 industries. This data was collected as part of the Health Survey for England, a representative repeated cross-sectional survey of people in England, looking at changes in the health and lifestyles of people all over the country. The results are published in Frontiers in Public Health.
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The team found an overall increase in the proportion of people reporting mental health problems, up from 16.0% in 2012-14 to 18.8% in 2016-2018. None of the industries studied experienced significant decreases in prevalence, but three industries – wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; construction; and other service activities – saw significant increases.
Common mental health problems were most prevalent among those who were not working, with around one in three (33.7%) people reporting problems. In the hospitality sector (accommodation and food services) and real estate, just under one in four people (23.8% and 23.6, respectively) reported mental health problems.
The lowest prevalence was seen among professional, scientific, and technical activities (15.0%), agriculture, forestry, fishing (9.6%), and mining and quarrying (6.2%).
Need for Industry-Specific Solutions in Mental Health Problems
Jobs that involve working face-to-face with the public, particularly where the employee has a degree of responsibility, and those that involve working irregular and long hours can all be emotionally demanding or even expose employees to violence and verbal aggression. This in turn could contribute to higher rates of mental health problems.
Nevertheless, we would still strongly encourage industry leaders – particularly in those sectors that fare worst, such as the hospitality and real estate sectors – to take an urgent look and try to identify and address the underlying issues.
In the majority of industries (11 out of 20), mental health problems were more common among females than they were among males. This was highest in the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector, where more than one in four women (26.0%) reported problems compared to around one in 20 (5.6%) of men. Not working also appeared to have a much bigger impact on females (45.0%) compared to males (21.7%).
From 2012-2014 to 2016-2018, gender disparities had widened in all but two sectors – human health and social work activities, and transport storage. Previous studies have identified some risk factors that have gender-specific impacts on mental health. However, the existing evidence cannot explain why there were disparities in some industries but not others.
Source: Eurekalert
