Globe gets absorbed by mental health ‘pandemic’
Date
12/18/2024 6:54:59 AM
(MENAFN) A growing mental health crisis is sweeping through workplaces globally, with the financial services sector being one of the hardest hit, according to a report by the Financial Times. Issues like burnout, depression, and anxiety are severely affecting productivity, according to economists, business leaders, and health advocates. A survey by Deloitte revealed that 17% of workers in finance and insurance in the UK face exhaustion and declining performance, significantly higher than the 12% average across all sectors.
The report also highlighted the substantial cost of poor mental health in financial services, with each employee costing the sector £5,379 annually, more than double the amount in any of the other 14 industries studied. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have provided alarming statistics, showing that approximately 12 billion workdays are lost annually to depression and anxiety, costing the global economy around $1 trillion each year.
Kate Pickett, a professor of epidemiology at York University, expressed concern over the alarming rise in mental health issues, especially among young people, stressing that the increase in reported cases is not just due to greater awareness but reflects a real worsening of the situation. Deloitte's researchers also pointed out that one in five children in the UK was likely to suffer from a mental health disorder in 2023, up from one in nine in 2017. Factors contributing to this global "mental health pandemic" include the cost-of-living crisis and the widespread use of social media.
The situation worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw a 25% increase in global depression cases between 2020 and 2021. The WHO noted that mental health levels have not yet returned to pre-pandemic conditions, with many still struggling with the lasting effects of the crisis.
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