A third of workers aged 55 and over (32%) have taken time off sick with poor mental health, with older generations also struggling with a ‘silent mental health crisis’, a survey has concluded.

Worrying from a workplace health perspective, this demographic is the least likely to be open about their mental health or seek help through their organisation’s employee assistance programme (EAP), the research from Unmind has concluded.

Mental health

Prioritising good mental health could kickstart UK plc – report

Blue Monday is an opportunity to review workplace mental health support

Tackling mental health with a ‘culture-first’ strategy 

The poll found that older workers are twice as likely to lie about the reason they were off sick, with only 14% of older workers comfortable being honest, compared with 31% of 18-24s.

More than half of workers aged 55 and over (51%) avoided talking about mental health struggles at work for fear of stigma, compared with just 29% of 18-24s.

The poll of 2,500 UK employees highlighted the need for a rethink in mental health support amid a growing push to bring older people back into the workforce, argued Unmind.

Almost one in five (18%) of this older age group preferred to blame their absence on physical health instead, with only 14% giving poor mental health as the reason, compared with 31% of 18-24s.

More than half (51%) of employees aged 55-64 said they avoided talking about their struggles for fear of stigma, compared to just under three in 10 (29%) of 18-24s.

And fewer than four in 10 (39%) of 55-64-year-olds believed their managers are well-equipped to support their mental health needs, compared to three in five (60%) of 18-24-year-olds.

When it came to accessing EAPs, workers aged 55 and over were the least likely of all age groups to use them, the Unmind survey found. Barely a fifth (18%) said they had used their workplace’s EAP in the past year, compared with 63% of 18-24s.

Among workers who had used an EAP in the last year, older workers were the least likely of all age groups to find it helpful in managing their mental health – 43%, compared to 77% of 19-24s.

Only 59% of employees aged 55-64 rated their EAP favourably, compared with more than three-quarters (76%) of 25-34-year-olds. This reinforced the notion of a ‘silent mental health crisis’ among older workers, said Unmind.

Dr Nick Taylor, CEO and co-founder of Unmind, said: “This data paints a clear picture: workplace mental health is not one-size-fits-all. For older generations, discussing mental health and illness is still stigmatised, while younger generations see these conversations as an essential part of overall health.

“With the retirement age increasing and initiatives in place to bring older workers back into employment, businesses must ensure they are creating an environment where employees of all ages feel supported or risk exacerbating the challenges older workers already face,” Taylor added.

Separately, a study from the US has argued that hormonal health issues are costing the US economy $197bn annually because of reduced productivity.

A survey of 2,250 US women by a hormonal health company Mira found that nearly a quarter of women had left or are considered leaving their jobs because of hormonal health issues.

These included heavy or painful menstruation, hormonal migraines, or menopause-related symptoms. Alarmingly, one in three women had taken a sick day because of hormonal symptoms, yet 67% feel they wouldn’t be met with understanding if they shared the real reason at work, Mira added.

Despite experiencing disruptive symptoms, many women also did not seeking medical help. More than two-thirds (68%) of women dealing with severe symptoms like pain or hot flashes and 91% experiencing skin or hair issues said they had not pursued medical assistance.

Additionally, more than a third (36%) believed their symptoms were “not serious enough” to warrant needing to access healthcare or medical support.

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

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required) OptOut From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.EmailThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

/* = 0;if(!is_postback){return;}var form_content = jQuery(this).contents().find('#gform_wrapper_129');var is_confirmation = jQuery(this).contents().find('#gform_confirmation_wrapper_129').length > 0;var is_redirect = contents.indexOf('gformRedirect(){') >= 0;var is_form = form_content.length > 0 && ! is_redirect && ! is_confirmation;var mt = parseInt(jQuery('html').css('margin-top'), 10) + parseInt(jQuery('body').css('margin-top'), 10) + 100;if(is_form){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_129').html(form_content.html());if(form_content.hasClass('gform_validation_error')){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_129').addClass('gform_validation_error');} else {jQuery('#gform_wrapper_129').removeClass('gform_validation_error');}setTimeout( function() { /* delay the scroll by 50 milliseconds to fix a bug in chrome */ }, 50 );if(window['gformInitDatepicker']) {gformInitDatepicker();}if(window['gformInitPriceFields']) {gformInitPriceFields();}var current_page = jQuery('#gform_source_page_number_129').val();gformInitSpinner( 129, 'https://www.personneltoday.com/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.svg', true );jQuery(document).trigger('gform_page_loaded', [129, current_page]);window['gf_submitting_129'] = false;}else if(!is_redirect){var confirmation_content = jQuery(this).contents().find('.GF_AJAX_POSTBACK').html();if(!confirmation_content){confirmation_content = contents;}jQuery('#gform_wrapper_129').replaceWith(confirmation_content);jQuery(document).trigger('gform_confirmation_loaded', [129]);window['gf_submitting_129'] = false;wp.a11y.speak(jQuery('#gform_confirmation_message_129').text());}else{jQuery('#gform_129').append(contents);if(window['gformRedirect']) {gformRedirect();}}jQuery(document).trigger("gform_pre_post_render", [{ formId: "129", currentPage: "current_page", abort: function() { this.preventDefault(); } }]); if (event && event.defaultPrevented) { return; } const gformWrapperDiv = document.getElementById( "gform_wrapper_129" ); if ( gformWrapperDiv ) { const visibilitySpan = document.createElement( "span" ); visibilitySpan.id = "gform_visibility_test_129"; gformWrapperDiv.insertAdjacentElement( "afterend", visibilitySpan ); } const visibilityTestDiv = document.getElementById( "gform_visibility_test_129" ); let postRenderFired = false; function triggerPostRender() { if ( postRenderFired ) { return; } postRenderFired = true; jQuery( document ).trigger( 'gform_post_render', [129, current_page] ); gform.utils.trigger( { event: 'gform/postRender', native: false, data: { formId: 129, currentPage: current_page } } ); if ( visibilityTestDiv ) { visibilityTestDiv.parentNode.removeChild( visibilityTestDiv ); } } function debounce( func, wait, immediate ) { var timeout; return function() { var context = this, args = arguments; var later = function() { timeout = null; if ( !immediate ) func.apply( context, args ); }; var callNow = immediate && !timeout; clearTimeout( timeout ); timeout = setTimeout( later, wait ); if ( callNow ) func.apply( context, args ); }; } const debouncedTriggerPostRender = debounce( function() { triggerPostRender(); }, 200 ); if ( visibilityTestDiv && visibilityTestDiv.offsetParent === null ) { const observer = new MutationObserver( ( mutations ) => { mutations.forEach( ( mutation ) => { if ( mutation.type === 'attributes' && visibilityTestDiv.offsetParent !== null ) { debouncedTriggerPostRender(); observer.disconnect(); } }); }); observer.observe( document.body, { attributes: true, childList: false, subtree: true, attributeFilter: [ 'style', 'class' ], }); } else { triggerPostRender(); } } );} ); /* ]]> */