Cost of living sparks rise in workers struggling with mental health

The cost of living crunch is leading to a crisis in mental health, new figures suggest, as a quarter more workers call employee helplines asking for support.

Analysis of calls to insurer Zurich’s employee assistance programme (EAP), which provides support to employees of its corporate risk customers, showed a 22% increase in helpline calls from workers struggling with their mental health¹ in the 12 months to March.

There was a 22% increase in callers suffering from anxiety², a 20% increase in workers struggling with low mood³, and a worrying 32% increase in callers suffering from depression⁴.

The analysis comes as the cost of living crisis puts pressure on both household budgets and workers’ mental wellbeing. More than double the number of employees called Zurich’s programme with financial worries⁵ in the year to March than in the previous 12 months.

Highlighting the link between mental health and financial wellbeing, a report last month from the Institute for Public Policy Research, showed that employees with a mental illness diagnosis face an average fall in annual earnings of around £2,200⁶.

There was a 30% rise in the number of workers worrying about their taxes⁷, while sadly there was a 152% rise in callers considering or going through a divorce or separation⁸.

The figures come after The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said last month that roughly 185.6 million working days were lost owing to sickness or injury in 2022, the highest since records began in 1995.

While mental health plays a part in this picture, NHS backlogs are having a toll on the physical health of Britain’s workforce. Zurich’s EAP registered a 22% increase in workers calling about their physical health⁹.

Nick Homer, Head of Group Risk at Zurich UK said:

“Mental health struggles are a key contributor to workplace absence and it’s clear from these figures that financial pressures are contributing greatly to peoples’ worries.

“At a time when more people are unable to work through illness than at any time this century, it is in employers’ interest to offer proactive and preventative care to their employees who may be struggling. Early identification can lead to swifter intervention, in turn increasing the chance of the employee making a successful return to work.”

Top 10 EAP Call Categories (year to March)

About the Employee Assistance Programme

Zurich Corporate Risk’s EAP is operated by Health Assured and offered to Corporate Protection customers.

The service provides Group Income Protection customers with up to eight structured sessions of face to face, telephone/video or online counselling, plus unlimited access to 24/7 support via its confidential helpline. In addition, comprehensive health and wellbeing support is available via a number of tools, including the My Healthy Advantage and Thrive apps.

Group Life customers are provided with telephone or video counselling support via a bereavement and probate focused service. This includes unlimited access to 24/7 support via its confidential helpline, plus comprehensive health and wellbeing support is available via a number of tools, including the My Healthy Advantage app.

Group Income Protection also provides access to valuable rehabilitation support from the early stages of absence to help aid an employee's recovery. The support provided by Zurich’s specialist in-house rehabilitation team can often be difficult to access through the NHS.

¹ 4,200 to 5,142
² 2,176 to 2,676
³ 1,084 to 1,308
⁴ 596 to 786
⁵ 52 to 107
⁶ https://www.ippr.org/news-and-media/press-releases/revealed-the-hidden-personal-cost-of-uk-long-term-sickness-that-cries-out-for-a-new-national-health-mission
⁷ 57 to 187
⁸ 81 to 190
⁹ 17 to 23