Many workers worried that revealing mental health concerns could result in job loss

A new study claims that there are increasing issues around reporting employee wellbeing whilst hybrid working, as 95 percent of UK employees feel that their company doesn’t do enough to identify and support those with mental health concerns. One in six UK employees feel worried that raising  concerns with their company could put them at risk of losing their job, the new report into employee mental health and remote working suggests. Throughout the UK, 86 percent believe that their workplace is not a safe space for employees to be open about mental wellbeing.

Over the last 12 months, two in three employees have experienced worse mental health at work, compared to the previous year. As remote and hybrid working environments continue to be adopted by more UK businesses, evidence suggests that companies have struggled to adapt their mental wellbeing support processes. One in three employees feel less able to raise concerns during remote meetings, often causing any issues to go unnoticed.

The Employee Mental Health and Remote Working report conducted by Wildgoose asked employees from 129 different UK companies whether their mental wellbeing at work had improved or worsened over the past year. It also asked whether these employees felt comfortable raising any concerns with their employers and what they believed would happen if they did.

Just over one in eight companies in the UK don’t have a process in place for remote workers to report mental health concerns. This is most prevalent in SMEs, where this figure nearly doubled to one in five not having a process in place.

With worsening employee wellbeing a growing concern, the change most desired by employees is for companies to offer more regular in-person meetings (36 percent) and for managers to receive better training on identifying signs of poor mental health (36 percent).

Just under a third of respondents (32 percent) state they would like to see a process policy of reporting mental health concerns, which is not currently offered, followed by assurances of job security after reporting.