A Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development study found that mental health problems accounted for the second most number of annual sick days behind musculoskeletal problems, such as back pain or a sprained ankle.
Among mental health problems, stress accounted for almost half of incidences of absence, with depression accounting for almost a quarter.
Following the report, mental health charity Mind called on employers to tackle absence by promoting awareness and understanding of mental health problems, making reasonable adjustments to allow employees to deal with problems, such as flexi-time, and offering services to promote wellbeing such as counselling and stress-awareness training.
