Category: Government and Legislation

How do we make mental health and employment two sides of the same coin, rather than separate or even competing priorities? That was the question we explored in a Mental Health UK roundtable discussion hosted in Parliament, in a conversation which went to the heart of one of the UK’s most pressing current challenges.

We’ve published findings of our second Annual Burnout report*, which takes the pulse of the nation’s stress levels. The survey of 4,418 UK adults conducted by YouGov finds that the risk of burnout remains prevalent, with one in three (34%) adults experiencing high or extreme levels of pressure or stress ‘always’ or ‘often’ last year, compared with 35% the previous year. Meanwhile, nine in 10 (91%) experienced high pressure or stress at some point over the last year.

Mental health has emerged as one of the most significant challenges facing the UK workforce today and therefore economic growth too. Approximately 630,000 people reported being economically inactive due to long-term sickness, with ‘mental health condition’ being the main cause in 2022-2023, and again in 2023-2024.

On Friday 19th April, Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak made a speech on welfare announcing the need for reforms. Specifically honing in on the need to tackle unemployment and getting people back into work.

In the UK, nearly 5 million cisgender women aged 50 and over are in employment – it is the fastest-growing demographic group of workers. This age group is the most likely to be affected by menopausal symptoms, so employers need to ensure they are supporting this group of their workforce. Talking openly with your employer can be an important first step towards being better supported at work.

Like many parents, I was looking forward to my children returning to school after the long summer holidays. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and love spending time with them. However, for the optimum balance of a happy home environment and my ability to do my job, a return to school was the order of the day. My kids too needed to get back into the daily schedule school brings; the social engagement of seeing all their friends again is a hugely positive thing and obviously they need to learn.

When we say “mental health is a universal human right,” what do we mean? After all, we all “have” mental health, just like we have physical health, but we aren’t always physically or mentally healthy.

We have urged the insurance industry to review the service they provide to people living with mental illness in our new report: Affording protection: mental health and insurance.