Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can help people with mental health problems to stay in work, says new study

People who experience depression and anxiety can be helped to keep their jobs if they are offered short spells of cognitive behavioural therapy, according to a review published today by the British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF).

16 September 2005

People who experience depression and anxiety can be helped to keep their jobs if they are offered short spells of cognitive behavioural therapy, according to a review published today by the British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF). Leading health & wellbeing solutions provider, FirstAssist, is sponsoring the launch event.

The review, written by SCMH for BOHRF, concludes that sufficient evidence exists to back the use of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) among people with common mental health problems. Courses of just eight weeks, it finds, can help people to stay in work. For employers, it can be the difference between keeping valued staff or losing and having to replace them.

Brian Kazer, director of BOHRF, said: “The cost of lost work among people with mental health problems is immense. Offering people short courses of CBT can be a highly cost-effective way of reducing sickness absence and preventing people from losing their jobs altogether. It is in the interest of all employers that speedy access to CBT is made available to all staff experiencing depression, anxiety and stress.”

The review produced a number of other key findings:

  • Helping staff to manage stress at work is often beneficial, although it may not on its own prevent mental health problems developing.
  • The most effective ways of preventing mental health problems are those targeted at staff at highest risk, for example in the most stressful occupations.
  • Companies and organisations where people feel safe talking about stresses and seeking help when they have problems are the best at keeping people in work.
  • High quality occupational health support and training for line managers to enable them to support colleagues with mental health problems is vital to help people keep their jobs.

Bob Grove, SCMH employment programme director, said: “Too many people lose their jobs when they experience mental health problems. This review shows that employers can do much to prevent that happening and to reduce sickness rates among their staff. Creating a mentally healthy workplace is as important an investment as any form of staff training or development: it will pay for itself.”

Lord Hunt said: "We know that the mental health of those out of work worsens, and their physical health too. So, it is entirely right that occupational health practitioners should be helping employers to reduce that burden.

"We need employers to do more to help employees who experience mild mental health problems to get back in the workplace. It is in their own interests as well as those of their employees and society as a whole."

Tim Ablett, Chief Executive, FirstAssist, which sponsored the launch event and has sponsored the publication of the Summary for Managers and Workers, confirmed the significance of the BOHRF Review: “Unlike many European countries, the UK does not have a specific law that requires businesses to have an occupational health policy in place and I believe that is why stress and mental health issues are allowed to escalate in the workplace. However, the findings of this important research highlight the importance of organisations – in both the public and private sector – applying clear policies for helping employees cope with stress. With the direct cost of lost working days estimated at around £11.6bn, which one risk management company is estimating indirectly add ups to as much as £33bn, there is an onus on businesses to address employee wellbeing.

“The new BOHRF findings make a lot of sense and should give HR Directors real ammunition to improve policies and processes in their organisations.”

Workplace interventions for people with common mental health problems, by Linda Seymour and Bob Grove, is a review of current evidence on how to reduce absence from work due to common mental health problems. It is published by the British Occupational Health Research Foundation. The research was carried out by a multidisciplinary working group under the chairmanship of Dr Kit Harling, Director NHS Plus. The review was funded by Bunzl plc, Department of Work and Pensions, Department of Health, Esso, Faculty of Occupational Medicine, FirstAssist, GlaxoSmithKline and Vodafone.

Download the report

Free copies of the review can be downloaded from the BOHRF site below:

Text of the evidence review PDF

Summary for health professionals PDF

Summary for employers & employees PDF