Absence, claims and costs: Why mental health remains employers’ toughest issue
Workplace mental health support is crucial. Figures from the British Medical Association revealed mental health services in England received a record 5.2 million referrals during 2024, up 37.9%% from 2019.
Drawing from insights featured in REBA’s research and guides library, we take a look at how employers are beginning to address this ongoing health issue.
Mental ill-health is a tough nut to crack
Despite sustained employer investment, mental ill‑health remains one of the most significant causes of absence and insurance claims in the workplace.
The CIPD’s Health and wellbeing at work (2025) research, supported by Simplyhealth, found mental ill-health to be the top cause of long-term absence, with two in five respondents (41%) citing it within top three causes.
It was also found to be the second main cause of short-term absence, with stress a major cause of both short- and long-term sickness absence (26% and 28%, respectively).
Overall, nearly two-thirds (64%) of organisations were taking steps to identify and/or reduce workplace stress. However, only half of organisations believed their efforts were effective.
A diverse approach to mental health is required
The AXA Mind Health Study (2025) charts the mental wellbeing of people worldwide. It found that we are not all equal when it comes to mental health – women struggle more than men and young adults more than older generations.
The report revealed that the number of people experiencing a mental health condition remains steady at one-in-three.
However, young adults reported higher rates of mental health problems compared to older generations.
As employers seek to better support mental health it is important to remember how different generations like to access help.
Although a little over two-fifths (41%) of respondents turned to online sources such as websites, social media and forums for support with their mental health, there is a generational divide.
Younger people were more likely to gravitate towards online sources. Nearly half (46%) of under-35s used these sources compared with one-third (33%) of those aged 55 and above.
The state of global mental health
A stigma remains around mental health in many countries.
Howden Employee Benefits’ Global employee health report 2026 found that nearly half (49%) of employees accessed mental health support last year, while employers viewed it as the top health-related risk for 2026 and the biggest driver of benefits costs.
Employers are working hard to address mental health through the expansion of benefits support.
However, the research found stigmas remain around mental health, such as concerns around negative career repercussions, and worries around privacy and confidentiality.
The research argued that employers must look beyond benefits and look to the opportunity to build cultures rooted in trust, confidentiality, and genuine care so that people feel safe to seek support when they need it most.
Employers are taking positive action to build supportive cultures
The good news is that recognising the need to build resilient and psychologically safe workplaces is high on employers’ agendas.
REBA’s Health and Wellbeing Research 2025 found that employers are not only recognising the ongoing risk of poor mental health, but are also looking to make changes to improve workplace culture to create supportive environments.
Two of the top three areas employers planned to address in the next two years were: line manager education to better support reports (39%) and educate employees to better support colleagues (36%).
Insurers are responding to greater mental health demand
In parallel, insurers are also expanding their services to meet demand.
WTW’s 2026 Global Medical Trends research found that employers are seeking behavioural health services, such as psychological and psychiatric care, as well as virtual counselling, outpatient support and therapy apps focused on stress resilience.
This is against a backdrop of employers seeking to develop global wellbeing initiatives that aim to prevent adverse mental health outcomes.
