A quarter of UK workers have complained of stress at work but received no support ⁰

Figures released in the fourth annual Employee Insight Report from Capita claim that one in four UK workers (26 percent) say they have complained to their employers about feeling stressed but have received no support. With the new statistics released on National Stress Awareness Day, the report suggests that stress is prevalent among the vast majority of UK workers, with three quarters (75 percent) saying they have felt stressed at some point over the past 12 months – more than a quarter (28 percent) say they feel stressed on and off throughout the year, while 5 percent say they feel stressed ‘all the time’. The report also shows most people (56 percent) would not feel comfortable talking about taking time off for issues such as depression or stress with their fellow workers, suggesting stigmas remain around mental health concerns.

Drawing on interviews with more than 3,000 people in employment, the Employee Insight Report assesses the financial wellbeing of the nation, and looks at employees’ attitudes towards pensions, retirement, benefits, savings and health in the workplace.

The findings reveal:

• Just 33 percent would feel comfortable talking to their employer if they have a mental health issue.
• 41 percent of employees believed that if a colleague was suffering from stress they should not come into work, with just 21 percent disagreeing.
• But employees are bad at taking their own advice – 77 percent of employees say they have not taken any time off as a result of feeling stressed.
• Older employees were more sympathetic than younger employees, for instance 28 percent of 25-34 year olds felt stressed colleagues should still come into work, compared to 13 percent of over 55 year olds.

The report suggests presenteeism is also an issue for employees: 63 percent said the last time they were ill they came into work anyway. Furthermore, 70 percent of employees say they feel less productive if they come into work whilst ill.

Almost half (49 percent) of employees say they were worried work would stack up in their absence if they felt under-the-weather and took time off. Just 20 percent disagreed. In addition, 51 percent said they were scared they would be judged badly by colleagues if they took too much time off.

Higher earners find it harder to completely switch off from issues at work even when they went on holiday, with 46 percent of employees earning over £45,000 saying they struggle to switch off, compared to 32 percent of employees earning less than £25,000.

Almost half of workers (43 percent) say they believe their employer has a responsibility to help them manage their personal health and wellbeing.