UK workers quitting over stress

There has been a focus on stress levels in the workplace in recent years, which has given rise to the need for companies to offer help to employees. Despite this new awareness, research shows that workers are still leaving their jobs en masse in order to escape the pressure.

Capita Employee Benefits has launched its third annual Employee Insight Report. Based on interviews with more than 3,000 people in employment it looks at employees? attitudes toward wellbeing in the workplace, including stress and mental health issues.

Findings in this year?s research include:

? 45% of employees say they have known a colleague to give up work due to stress, while 38% say coworkers have complained to their boss about stress in the past, but the employer has done nothing to help.

? Three-quarters (75%) of employees say they have felt stressed at work over the last 12 months, with the problem being more acute among females (79%) than males (71%) and younger people than their older counterparts (82% of 16-24 year olds compared to 68% of those aged 55-64).

? Only 19% of those surveyed say they have taken time off work because of stress, despite 41% stating they do not believe a colleague suffering with stress should still come into work.

? 42% say if they had a mental health issue they thought their employer would be understanding and would feel as if they could take time off work to get better. However, just 33% say that if they had a mental health issue they would feel comfortable talking to their employer about it.

? Employees feel as uncomfortable talking about mental health issues with their colleagues as they do their employers. Less than one in three (31%) would be happy to talk to colleagues if they had time off for mental health reasons and 57% say they would not be happy to talk about it at all.

? More than two-thirds (68%) say the last time they were ill they went into work anyway, yet 74% say they believe colleagues who are genuinely sick should stay home until they are better. 56% feel more pressure to come into work when they are ill than they used to.