Work-related stress, anxiety and depression have become the leading causes of workplace absence in the UK, with nearly a million employees affected in the past year, according to figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Its data foiund that 22.1 million working days were lost in 2024/25 due to mental ill health, a steep rise compared with the previous year.
According to the HSE, 964,000 workers experienced stress, depression or anxiety linked to their jobs in 2024/25, whether newly diagnosed or long-standing. This equates to a prevalence rate of 2,770 per 100,000 workers, which is statistically significantly higher than the year before.
“In the recent years prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, the rate of self-reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety had shown signs of increasing,” the HSE noted.
“The rates in each of the latest three years are higher than the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level. The number of new cases was 409,000, an incidence rate of 1,180 per 100,000 workers. The total number of working days lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2024/25 was 22.1 million days. This equated to an average of 22.9 days lost per case,” it added.
Overall, stress, depression and anxiety accounted for 52% of all work-related ill health in 2024/25, and 62% of all working days lost for health reasons.
Rates of depression and anxiety were highest in public administration and defence, compulsory social security, health and social care, and education.
Since 2023/24, mental ill health has overtaken musculoskeletal problems as the primary cause of workplace absence. With the figure now approaching one million affected workers, employers are being urged to take the issue seriously, said Gavin Scarr-Hall, health and safety director at Peninsula.
“The report has identified some key trends,” he explained. ”Firstly, female workers are 25% more likely than to report work-related stress, anxiety or depression. This can often be linked to the pressures of juggling work demands with family and caregiving responsibilities, also known as the double shift.
“Another key demographic is age, with those aged 25-34 years old reporting the highest levels of work-related mental ill health. Common factors include workload pressures, financial burden and career progression stressors. Those aged 35-44 years old reported high levels of stress associated with trying to balance senior responsibilities and family demands, while younger workers (18-24) are most likely to take time off work due to poor mental health, often linked to job performance anxiety and burnout.”
Frontline and senior managers were also highlighted as particularly vulnerable, with high emotional demands, heavy workloads and limited control cited as common pressures.
“Occupational safety and staff retention are two sides of the same coin,” said Scarr-Hall. “Employers should prioritise integrating risk management into all people-related policies.
“Audit job designs, train managers to manage safety risks not just people and ensure that retention strategy starts and ends with ensuring the work employees do is safe. Proper mental-health management will lead to better employee retention, saving both time, money, and stress for all concerned.”
