According to the Health and Safety Executive, stress is now one of the most common causes of long-term sick leave at work. Along with anxiety and depression, it accounted for more than17 million working days lost in the UK in 2021/22, or 51% of all cases of work-related illnesses in the same year. It is predicted that the cost of sickness benefits will surge by more than a third by the end of the decade amid a sharp rise in claims for mental health conditions, including stress.
As a result, mental health is no longer just a private, personal matter but a critical success factor for all businesses.