Overview

The Stevenson-Farmer Independent Review into Mental Health in the workplace was commissioned by Theresa May in January this year. The review aims to understand how employers can better support all individuals in employment, including those with poor mental health or wellbeing. Deloitte were asked to support this review by exploring the following questions:

1. What is the cost of poor mental health to employers?
2. What is the return on investment (ROI) to employers from mental health interventions in the workplace?
3. What can we learn from international examples in terms of good practice?

We have calculated the cost of poor mental health in the workplace to be a significant number at £33bn-£42bn; the mid-point of which is equivalent to almost 2% of UK GDP (2016). This cost is borne by businesses of all sizes and across all industries, with our analysis showing the costs per employee ranging from £497 – £2564, depending on the industry and sector.

However, the costs are disproportionately born in the public sector, particularly in healthcare. Our research has also found that the return on investment of workplace mental health interventions is overwhelmingly positive, with an average ROI of 4:1.

You can download the entire study here.