Fewer than one in five workers have used workplace mental health support

Fewer than one in five British employees have ever used workplace mental health support, despite widespread anxiety, exhaustion and financial pressure.

The Mental Wealth Index 2026, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Wisdom Wellbeing, found that just 18.5 per cent of full-time workers had used an employee assistance programme (EAP), while fewer than half knew they could access mental health support through their employer.

The findings raise questions about whether existing workplace wellbeing provision is reaching the employees who need it, and whether employers are doing enough to identify and address health risks before they develop into more serious problems.

The research found that 38 per cent of workers were at the anxious end of the survey’s wellbeing scale, while 43 per cent reported feeling mentally drained by work often or always.

Almost half, 48 per cent, said they slept six hours or less each night, while 59 per cent experienced some degree of financial stress. More than one in five, 22 per cent, reported serious concerns about money.

The findings suggest that pressures affecting employees extend beyond mental health alone, with financial insecurity, poor sleep and workplace demands potentially combining to affect wellbeing and people’s capacity to remain healthy and productive at work.

However, awareness of available support remains limited. Less than half  (47.5 per cent) of respondents knew they could access workplace mental health support, while 26.9 per cent were unsure whether their employer provided it.

The research also identified significant inequalities in awareness and access. Among higher-paid employees, 53 per cent knew workplace support was available, compared with 37 per cent of lower-paid workers.

Differences were also evident across gender and age groups. Women were around 40 per cent more likely than men to report feeling mentally drained “often” or “always”, with 51.6 per cent of women reporting this experience, compared with 36.9 per cent of men.

Women aged 45 to 54 emerged as the most anxious group in the workforce, while younger employees reported particularly high levels of financial stress and burnout.

Among men aged 25 to 34, 46.5 per cent said they were uncomfortable discussing mental health with their manager, highlighting the potential influence of workplace culture and stigma on help-seeking behaviour.

Sleep deprivation was more prevalent among older workers, affecting 59.4 per cent of those aged 55 and over. Geographical differences were also identified, with workers in northern England, Wales and Scotland generally reporting greater pressure and lower access to support than those in London.

The North East emerged as an area of particular concern, although the report cautions that some regional sample sizes were relatively small.

Bertrand Stern-Gillet, CEO at Wisdom Wellbeing, said: “For too long, mental health in the workplace has been treated reactively; we wait until an employee is signed off with stress before we offer help. This report proves that mental wealth is built through daily, proactive maintenance.”

Professor Sir Cary Cooper, Chair of the Wisdom Wellbeing Clinical Advisory Board and Professor of Organisational Psychology, said: “The most important message in this report is not that Britain has a workforce in crisis, but that it has a workforce operating with very little spare capacity. Too many people are managing significant levels of pressure before they ever seek support. The challenge for employers is therefore not simply responding when problems emerge but identifying and addressing the conditions that create them in the first place. Prevention begins long before an employee decides to ask for help.”

Low usage may reflect limited awareness, uncertainty about confidentiality, stigma or practical barriers to accessing support. Equally, usage figures alone cannot establish whether employees’ underlying needs are being met.

The report recommends that organisations improve communication about available services, train managers to recognise early signs of distress and examine whether support is reaching employees consistently across different pay levels, locations and demographic groups.

It also calls for employers to address organisational factors contributing to poor wellbeing, including excessive workloads, insufficient flexibility and difficulties disconnecting from work.

The Mental Wealth Index 2026 draws on a YouGov online survey of 4,249 adults in Great Britain, including approximately 1,767 full-time workers, conducted between 7 and 9 July 2026. Results were weighted to represent the GB adult population, with individual question bases varying.