Yahoo Finance Six in 10 men want to quit their jobs because of poor mental health
Men across the UK are facing increasing levels of stress in their careers, with six in 10 wanting to quit their job because it’s affecting their mental health.
In a survey of 2,000 people by job board CV-Library, a staggering 82% of men claimed mental health issues affect their working life, compared with a slightly smaller 68% of women.
Although more women suffer with mental health problems, men are more likely to feel the effects of poor mental health at work, the research found.
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Despite struggling, six in 10 men feel they can’t discuss their mental health issues with their boss for fear that their professional abilities would be questioned (44%), their boss won’t understand mental illness (41%) or they would be judged (39%).
However, male employees did suggest various ways employers could make their work days less stressful.
Interestingly, men highlighted Britain’s “long hours culture” as one of the biggest detriments to their mental health. Over half (54%) said their employer should promote a healthier work-life balance, while 35% said they need to ease up when it comes to pressuring employees to work long hours.
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Brits work the longest hours in Europe, putting in about two-and-a-half weeks longer than the typical EU employee. On top of this, a third of Londoners work 50 hours or more a week.
Men also said that being referred to counselling (40%), being able to take time off when they need to (31%) and more open discussion of mental health at work (30%) would help them.
Men said they’d be most likely to talk to a medical professional about their mental health, whereas women are most likely to turn to their friends.
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Both genders listed colleagues and their boss as who they would be least likely to talk to, underlining that they are not seeking support from their employers.
