‘Money and work worries affecting mental health’
ALMOST three-quarters of working people in Wales – 74% – say that worrying about money or work is affecting their mental health, according to an opinion poll commissioned by BBC Wales.
A cross-section of people from all over Wales took part in the poll.
Overall 33% said they agreed strongly that worrying about work or money was affecting their mental health, while a further 41% said they agreed slightly.
Of the workers surveyed, the younger age groups were most likely to agree that worrying about work or money is affecting their mental health.
A staggering 80% of 16 to 34-year-olds agreed overall and 78% of 35 to 74-year-olds also agreed overall.
In answer to one of the other questions asked as part of the poll, one in four workers said they didn’t know how much they will be paid next month.
The poll, commissioned from Beaufort Research, featured as part of the first programme in a new debate series, The Hour, which broadcast on Monday evening.
David Blackaby, Professor of Economics at Swansea University, said: “This result shows the impact of the growth in zero-hours and short-term contracts on Welsh workers alongside a general decline in job security.“
Director of Mind Cymru Sara Moseley said: “It’s really worrying that nearly three-quarters of working people in Wales feel their mental health is impacted by their jobs.
“In many workplaces, mental health is still a taboo subject and in many instances employers simply don’t understand the crucial role they can play or know where to go for advice and support.”
These figures, and the rest of the poll results, were discussed in the programme, which came from Ebbw Vale, where the audience explored in depth the challenges and opportunities of working in today’s Wales.
However, there was positive news in response to other questions.
As many as 86% of workers said they were happy in their job (30% very happy and 56% fairly happy), while only 14% described themselves as unhappy (10% fairly unhappy and 4% very unhappy).
People were less concerned about the threat to their jobs posed by further automation.
Only 27% agreed (8% strongly and a further 19% slightly) with the statement “I worry my job could be done by a computer, robot or automated processes in the next 10 years”, while 71% disagreed (42% strongly and a further 29% slightly).
There was also a degree of optimism when it came to whether people thought their career ambitions would be realised, with 71% agreeing with the statement “I’m confident I’ll be able to achieve my career ambitions” (22% strongly and 49% slightly) against 29% who disagreed (22% slightly and 7% strongly).
The poll was conducted from October 13-22 and it surveyed 1,005 respondents from all over Wales.
Only full-time and parttime workers responded to the questions specified here.
Other questions in the poll were answered by all respondents, whether employed or not.
The survey was geographically spread across Wales, and included the full range of social groups and ages.