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More than two in five employees in the rail sector meet the clinical criteria for a mental health condition, according to a survey that also concluded the mental health of many within the sector has deteriorated over the course of the pandemic. The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) found that 43% of employees who responded to its survey, which ran in 2020 but was published this week, met the criteria needed for a mental health diagnosis. It warned that employers in the sector should steer away from “gimmicks” such as yoga sessions and free fruit if they wanted to properly support workers. Symptoms of depression were the most commonly reported, followed by anxiety. Thirty-eight per cent of respondents had depression scores in the moderate to severe range and 29% reported moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety. Forty-one per cent said they had experienced a traumatic event. Seventy-four per cent of these employees said that some of the traumatic events they had experienced had been work-related. One in 10 survey participants reported symptoms consistent with a clinical post-traumatic stress disorder, with 7% reporting symptoms consistent with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and 3% consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder. RSSB’s clinical psychologist Dr Michelle O’Sullivan said: “For the first time we’ve been able to measure the impact of rail industry work on mental health. The industry has demanding pu