Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Stressed workers take 12.5m days off in a year
STRESSED workers took 12.5 million days off last year, official figures have revealed.
More than half a million people suffering from depression, stress or anxiety were unable to turn up for work shifts as expected.
That is an increase of 800,000 days compared with last year.
Health and Safety Executive statistics show that work-related stress, depression or anxiety account for 40% of work-related ill health and 49% of all working days lost in 2016/17.
Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, who unearthed the figures, said: “This shows the enormous scale of the damage that mental illness does to individuals and the wider economy.
“My worry is that this is just the tip of the iceberg and the true figures are much more stark.”