Sleepless nights

Financial worries make the list of top 10 reasons keeping people awake at night, while mental health in the workplace is an increasingly hot topic 

Mental health issues are increasingly on the agenda for businesses, as people feel they can finally speak up and the number of self-reported, work-related mental health cases in the UK hit a record high last year.

Analysis of 14 years’ data from the Labour Force Survey (a national quarterly survey of 37,000 households) by Clyde & Co, shows that in 2016/2017 there were an estimated 431,000 self-reported mental health cases where employees stated that they believed their job had caused, or made worse, their mental health issues – the highest number since records began.  

Further analysis from Clyde & Co shows:

• The human health and social working sector has the highest frequency of self-reported mental health cases per 100,000 employees. In 2016/2017, there were an estimated 2,130 cases of work-related mental health issues per 100,000 employees working in that sector.
• Public administration and defence are the second-highest sector, with 2,040 cases per 100,000 employees, followed by financial services with 1,890 per 100,000 employees. Meanwhile, looking at the causes of mental health issues:
• Three in five (60%) UK adults say a financial shock would have a negative impact on their mental health
• More than eight in 10 (83%) say they wake up at night worrying, with a fifth (19%) stating they wake up more than once a week
• This comes as one in six (17%) admit they have no disposable income, a quarter (24%) have no savings and nine in ten (92%) do not have income protection.

Lack of control

According to the Cost of Resilience report from Zurich UK, more than a third (34%) of UK adults do not feel they are financially resilient and would not be able to recover easily from a financial shock or loss of income. As a result, more than a quarter (27%) do not feel positive about their future, and two fifths (43%) do not feel in control of their life.

The report also finds that even prior to a financial shock taking place, adults are often concerned and lose sleep as a result.

More than eight in 10 (84%) wake up at night worrying and, of those, a fifth (19%) wake up more than once a week. Those who say they are not financially resilient are more than 50% more likely to wake in the middle of the night concerned – at least once a week – compared to those who describe themselves as financially resilient
(36% v 55%). The most common worries facing UK adults:

• My health – 37%
• The health of my partner, family, friends – 32%
• My relationship with my partner, family and friends – 23%
• How to make my money last until the next time I get money – 19%
• Debts – 17%
• The security of my job – 10%
• Looking after elderly relatives – 10%
• If my salary is enough to support me in the long term – 10%
• If my salary is enough to support me and my dependants in the long term – 9%
• How to afford a new home – 8% Of those who state they wake up at night concerned, two thirds (66%) do not have income protection in place, whereas of those who do have income protection, just 6% wake up worrying. 

Picture Credit | iStock