Four in ten UK workers feel their mental health is worse than a year ago

A new study by independent job board, CV-Library claims four in 10 (42.9 percent) professionals feel their mental health is worse than it was a year ago. What’s more, female workers appear to be suffering more than their male counterparts (46.9 percent of women vs. 39.9 percent of men).

The study also claims that 43.7 percent of employees feel their work-life balance is worse than a year ago with a further 61 percent stating working from home as the main reason for this. What’s more, the data suggests that professionals aged 25-34 years old are the most likely to blame home working (50 percent), followed by 35-54-year-old’s (40 percent) and 55-64-year-old’s (39.6 percent). In addition to this, nearly three-quarters (72.9 percent) of the individuals surveyed admitted that they would look for a new job in order to secure a better work-life balance.

The job board surveyed 1,300 UK professionals in an effort to ascertain how the global pandemic has impacted the wellbeing of the nation’s workforce; with respondents naming the following concerns as having the biggest impact on their mental health:

1. Worrying about not being able to find a job (57.3 percent)
2. Experiencing financial difficulties (50.2 percent)
3. Worrying about the health and wellbeing of friends and/or family members (36.3 percent)
4. Worrying about the spread of COVID-19 (26 percent)
5. Not being able to leave home during lockdown (19.2 percent)

Interestingly, these worries remain the same across all genders and age groups with the exception of workers aged 35-44 years old, who felt that experiencing financial difficulties (54.5 percent) had the biggest impact on their mental health.

Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library comments: “The last seven months has been filled with a great amount of uncertainty and it’s understandable that so many professionals feel their mental health is suffering. Businesses need to be aware of these challenges and ensure they’re offering support to employees who may be struggling.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”Those who struggle to find a healthy work-life balance will be dreading the next few months.”[/perfectpullquote]

“What’s more, it’s no surprise that worrying about finding a new job is one of the biggest concerns for UK workers, as many individuals have been made redundant and employment opportunities have been scarce. While the UK job market may take some time to fully recover, it’s important to remember that the situation is already improving. In fact, as time goes on, we’re seeing more job postings being added to our site every week.”

Biggins continues: “The government has once again recommended that professionals should work from home where possible. While this may be good news for some, those who struggle to find a healthy work-life balance will be dreading the next few months.

“As an employer, you have a duty of care to keep your employees safe and to protect their mental health. It’s vital that you encourage team members to take regular breaks and to only work during their normal hours. You should also consider sharing resources and tips that can make working from home easier. This should enable your employees to safeguard their mental health, and hopefully prevent staff from looking for opportunities elsewhere.”

Image by Bianca Mentil