Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

AnxietyStressDepressionStressMental health conditions

Pandemic mental health crisis ‘needs tackling swiftly’

by Ashleigh Webber 24 Aug 2020
by Ashleigh Webber 24 Aug 2020 Shutterstock
Shutterstock

Swift action to address the mental health crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic has been urged, after official figures revealed almost one in five adults were likely to be experiencing some form of depression.

According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics last week, 19.2% of adults were estimated to be experiencing feelings of depression in June 2020, compared with 9.7% before the pandemic (July 2019 to March 2020).

Mental health during the pandemic

Almost half of managers think staff are at risk of burnout

Coronavirus and Black Lives Matter affecting wellbeing of most staff

NHS to launch coronavirus recovery support service

Loneliness – a risk to health we can no longer ignore

Eighty-five per cent of those experiencing some form of depression felt their wellbeing was being affected by feelings of stress or anxiety.

The figures indicate that the pandemic had taken an “incredible toll” on the wellbeing of the UK public, said Sean Duggan, chief executive of the Mental Health Network at the NHS Confederation, a body that represents employers that provide NHS services.

“Our members are already preparing to meet increased demand for services as a result of the pandemic, and studies like this help to quantify how much additional demand there will be,” said Duggan. “They are working hard to resume services like Improving Access to Psychological Therapies and to increase digital access, but there are concerns that the current financial provision for mental health, which was agreed pre-pandemic, will not be enough to meet demand.”

One in eight developed “moderate to severe” symptoms of depression during the pandemic – 6.2% of whom continued to experience depressive symptoms at this severity in June.

A survey by recruitment firm Robert Walters earlier this month found that nearly half of managers thought their employees were at risk of burnout, while a third of employees said their mental health had suffered because they had been working longer hours during the pandemic.

According to the ONS, those most likely to experience some form of depression during the period included people aged 16 to 39 years old; women; those unable to afford an unexpected expense; and people with disabilities.

Duggan said the impact of poor mental health during Covid-19 had affected employment, housing, finances and personal relationships.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“If social issues become more deeply rooted for a large section of the population, there is a risk that low level mental health needs will become more serious and require more specialist care,” he said. “A cross-government approach taking into account the wider impact of policies on people’s mental health is essential.”

OH job opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more OH jobs

Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

previous post
Tesco creates 16,000 permanent jobs
next post
Drug and alcohol abuse ‘a health concern, not just disciplinary issue’

You may also like

Employers ‘worryingly’ ignorant about stress risk assessments

20 May 2025

Awareness weeks fuel spike in demand for mental...

19 May 2025

Four ways employers can reduce the risk of...

14 May 2025

Healthcare workers prioritise mental health support in new...

12 May 2025

Two-thirds of school leaders suffering mental ill health

6 May 2025

‘Healthy work’ about much more than access to...

28 Apr 2025

Call for better mental health support for NHS...

17 Apr 2025

Computer says no: IT woes giving employees sleepless...

15 Apr 2025

Nearly half did not take even one full...

14 Apr 2025

Quarter feel their employer is ineffective at managing...

11 Apr 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today