"With employees reporting such a significant impact on their mental health, investing in resources in this area would be a beneficial place to start."
- Jane Hulme, HR Director at Unum UK
Of those surveyed (3,025), 69% of employees in the UK admitted that the economic crisis has become their biggest day-to-day concern with 20% claiming they’ve sought out help with their mental health due to living cost concerns.
Despite this, almost half (47%) of employees have received no cost-of-living support from their employer over the last twelve months - this is a 12% increase since 2022. Even among employees who’d received support, there was a 7% decrease in pay rises, which were recognised as the most common type of support.
Furthermore, Unum UK found that 24% of employees are looking for a second job to support their finances, while 18% are looking to move jobs in favour of a higher salary or better employee benefits. Among those aged 16-34, this figure increased to 27% looking for new jobs while 28% planned to find a second job to make ends meet.
Jane Hulme, HR Director at Unum UK, felt these results reveal a growing gap in employer support leading staff to stretch themselves in a bid to make ends meet. “Offering a strong employee benefits package that supports employees physically, emotionally, and financially is key to enable a happy, healthy, and productive workforce,” she continued.
She felt that given the figure, it’s “no surprise” that 34% of employees aged 16-34 are already experiencing burn out. “Now is the time for employers to start considering the best and most effective benefits they can put in place,” Jane concluded.
