Mental illness among British staff is losing employers £1,000 a year, a new report reveals.
The report by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health shows that staff mental health problems costs UK employers over £25bn.
Costs comprise £8.4bn in sick leave, £2.4bn to replace staff leaving their jobs and £15bn in reduced productivity.
Bob Grove, Sainsbury Centre employment programme director, said: “The costs of ignoring mental health at work are astronomical.
“The NHS is estimated to be losing £1.3bn each year: equivalent to one quarter of its spending on mental healthcare.”
He adds that employers need to be aware of mental health, yet most vastly underestimate how many of their staff will have mental health problems.
“Employers who take effective action to improve the well being of their staff will reap the rewards of their efforts,” he says.
“They can take steps to reduce the risk of mental ill health among their staff. And they can help staff who do need to take time off to get back to work when they are ready.”
