Poor mental health is a growing concern in our society. As a practicing psychotherapist, alongside my business consultancy, I see daily evidence of the scale of the challenge and witness the tragic impact on individuals. I’ve shared some statistics below about mental health issues in the workplace and also in the marketing profession – and also for women (although men suffer just as much from poor mental health – albeit in different ways). Physical and mental health are, of course, inextricably linked. There are many possible solutions – for the individual it might involve therapy, medication or a change in lifestyle. There’s also much that can be done by employers (leadership teams and human resources) in changing organizational culture. I also include the contents of an article in this month’s PM Magazine (member access only) called “You can’t wellness your way out of a toxic culture” to which I contributed. Improve mental health at work, in marketing and for women – individual interventions and organizational change
- Statistics on mental health in the workplace (and especially for women and those in marketing)
- The impact of poor emotional health on physical health
- Strategies and solutions for improved mental health in the workplace
- You can’t wellness your way out of a toxic culture (the PM Magazine article – including a law firm case study at Brodies)
- Further resources on mental health, anxiety, confidence, self-esteem and therapy
Statistics on mental health in the workplace
Some statistics on mental health in the workplace – generational, women and occupational (marketing careers) trends
- Huge loss of workdays due to poor mental ill health
Working days lost in Great Britain – HSE “Stress, depression or anxiety and musculoskeletal disorders accounted for the majority of days lost due to work-related ill health in 2023/24, 16.4 million and 7.8 million respectively”
- Risk of burnout from stress remains high – particularly for younger workers
Burnout Report 2025 reveals generational divide in levels of stress and work absence – Mental Health UK (January 2025) “Survey of 4,418 UK adults conducted by YouGov finds that the risk of burnout remains prevalent, with one in three (34%) adults experiencing high or extreme levels of pressure or stress ‘always’ or ‘often’ last year, compared with 35% the previous year. Meanwhile, nine in 10 (91%) experienced high pressure or stress at some point over the last year. Signs of a widening generational divide and breakdown in trust, with 18-24-year-olds most likely to be absent due to poor mental health caused by stress, amid a sharp decline in likelihood they’d open up with line managers about stress levels”.
- Women’s mental health issues caused by stress, anxiety, depression, abuse, trauma, premenstrual syndrome, discrimination, infertility, baby loss, post-natal depression, parenthood and menopause
Women twice as likely as men to take time off work due to stress and worry, study finds (May 2025) “Women are twice as likely as men to take time off work because of stress, depression or anxiety, according to analysis of data from the last three years of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) labour force survey. On average, female employees lost 0.91 days each year due to stress, anxiety or depression, while male employees lost just 0.44 days”
Women’s mental health – Statistics (July 2025)
- Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety as men
- One in five women compared with one in eight men have a mental disorder
- Over a quarter (26%) of young women aged between 16–24 years old report having a common mental health problem in any given week. This compares to 17% of adults. And this number is increasing
- Women are more likely to be affected by depression than men
- Evidence shows that 53% of women who have mental health problems have also experienced abuse. The link between physical and sexual violence, trauma and PTSD is clear from this research
- PMDD is a severe form of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) that occurs a week or two before a woman’s period. The condition affects around one in 20 women, often making day-to-day life a struggle
- Women’s struggles with infertility and baby loss can have a detrimental impact on their mental health
- Postnatal depression is a type of depression that occurs in the first year after birth. The condition affects more than one in ten women
Women over 55 most likely to miss work due to mental health – PA Future (May 2025) “Women aged 55 and over are most affected by mental health-related absenteeism in the UK, research has found this Mental Health Awareness Week. Women aged 55 and over miss an average missing of 1.31 days of work annually due to stress, depression, or anxiety – the highest figure among all demographic groups and more than 68.7% above the national average of 0.64 days. This also represents 62.7% of all days missed among this age group. Women aged 25-34 rank second”
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- Mental health struggles are widespread during menopause
- Up to 70% of women experience mood swings
- Around 45 – 60% suffer from depression
- Nearly 60% report cognitive issues like brain fog
- Sleep disturbances, which can worsen emotional well-being, affect about 50% of menopausal women
One in seven female managers say their gender has made it harder to succeed at work (March 2025) “As many as one in seven (14%) female managers reported feeling that their gender has made it harder for them to succeed at work. Nearly a third (32%) of female respondents working in leadership or senior management positions say they have suffered discriminatory experiences at work or been treated unfavourably during recruitment because of their gender”.
- High level of burnout in marketing occupation
Banishing marketing burnout: Steps to a stronger, calmer future (April 2025) – “Marketing Week’s 2025 Career & Salary Survey of more than 3,500 marketers found that 58.1% had felt overwhelmed over the past 12 months, with 50.8% reporting emotional exhaustion and 48.2% feeling a lack of enjoyment in work that used to engage them.”
“And it’s not just Marketing Week’s findings. A 2024 survey published by the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing found that more than half of marketers surveyed (56%) admitted they feared burning out in their current role with three fifths (59%) of 25-to-34-year-olds indicating they were worried about this issue.”
The impact of poor emotional health on physical health
The statistics on poor mental health are alarming. And even more so when you consider the impact of poor mental health on physical health.
There is information in the leading book on stress by Gabor Mate “When the body says no” about particular personalities (e.g. those who repress their emotions – especially anger – and those who are unable to say “no”) and the link to serious illnesses such as cancer, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and auto-immune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s Disease and Alzheimer:
- “Extreme suppression of anger” was the most commonly identified characteristic of breast cancer patients in a 1974 British study
- Characteristics of many persons with rheumatoid diseases is a stoicism carried to an extreme degree and a deeply ingrained reticence about seeking help. The non-complaining stoicism exhibited by rheumatoid patients is a coping style acquired early in life…one common characteristic was a pseudo-independence, described by author as a compensating hyper-independence
Strategies and solutions for mental health in the workplace
Supporting individuals
Individuals can seek help – for example, from self-help resources (see below) or from therapy. GPs and psychiatrists can prescribe medication to manage severe mental ill health.
Many employers provide Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) where employees can obtain confidential counselling and therapy without charge.
The NHS also provides therapy – mostly Cognitive Based Therapy (CBT) – although there are often waiting lists.
And there are many charities that provide low-cost counselling if people cannot afford private therapy.
Cultural change in organisations
There are no simple solutions to complex problems. And whilst employers are not solely responsible for the mental health of their employees, they have a duty of care to minimise risks and a strategic imperative to protect their people who are usually a key asset.
Organisations may not be able to prevent mental health problems. But they can craft a culture that minimises the likelihood of factors negatively impacting mental health. And they can ensure that they can identify and support individuals who are suffering from poor mental health – whatever the reasons.
Organisations can:
- Increase awareness of the importance of good mental health
- Enshrine employee physical health and emotional well-being in their purpose, objectives and strategies
- Investigate, consult on, measure and monitor the mental health of their employees
- Encourage leaders to present good role models of personal mental health management
- Support human resources (HR) to implement policies, processes, systems and resources to support good mental health
- Consider the mental health impact of major organisational change and transformation projects
- Train managers in how to create a psychologically safe environment and support employees who are at risk of or suffering from poor mental health
- Support everyone in managing their own and their colleagues’ physical and mental wellbeing
These require strong leadership, organizational culture change, strategic human resources policies and awareness and training for managers and staff. There’s an interesting case study of Brodies law firm below.
Encouraging best practice in overall employee wellbeing, there are awards for good work places (e.g. Best Place To Work Award – Enter Now – Best Business Awards and UK’s Best Workplaces | Workplace Awards | Great Place to Work® UK).
And accreditations that demonstrate excellent people management (e.g. Workplace Accreditations to #MakeWorkBetter | Investors in People).
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives can help focus attention on the mental health of “at risk” groups. Such as those that increase awareness and adjustments for gender or neurodiversity (e.g. Understanding neurodiversity – Neurodiversity at work – Acas).
There are also awareness and training movements such as Transforming your workplace with expert mental health training and consultancy · MHFA England
This book – written by a lawyer turned clinical psychologist – looks specifically at mental health in (USA) law firms: Book review: The Thriving Lawyer by Traci Cipriano (resilience)
Some other resources that might help:
National Women’s Health Week 2025 “National Women’s Health Week 2025 encourages women to focus on their whole health — mind and body. This year’s theme emphasizes the importance of caring for physical, mental, and emotional well-being at every stage of life. The 2025 observance highlights three important areas of women’s health: Menopause, Mental health, Cancer”
Burnout Report 2025 reveals generational divide in levels of stress and work absence – Mental Health UK January 2025 “18-24 year-olds are most likely to say interventions such as reasonable adjustments, mental health training and a supportive line manager help alleviate stress and prevent burnout”.
4 ways employers can boost women’s mental health in work | World Economic Forum March 2024 “The number of women in the C-suite has increased from 17% in 2015 to 28% in 2023. New research on employee health shows that women employees report they are more exhausted and have worse mental and spiritual health than men. Employers can play a positive role, including providing support for caregivers, increasing flexibility, cutting microaggressions and providing targeted support”.
Mental health tops the list of expected employee demands in 2025 – HR News “The latest research from Towergate Employee Benefits shows that mental health tops the list of expected employee needs in 2025, with nearly a third (31%) of employers stating they believe there will be an increased demand for support”.
Coping with burnout | Influence and participation | Mind
Coping in a chaotic workplace American Psychological Association (June 2025)
You can’t wellness your way out of a toxic culture
Continuing the theme of mental health in the marketing profession – particularly in professional services, the following article was published in the September/October edition of Magazine – PM Forum (member only access). The PDF is shown above. I contributed several comments.
While mental health support for fee-earners has long been on the radar, many business development and marketing teams still face high pressure with little protection. A growing number of firms are learning that real change comes from culture, not quick fixes, as James Lumley discovers.
Traditionally, fee-earners have been given the lion’s share of support when it comes to mental health because they are perceived to be the ones that make the money. But what about the marketers, the comms teams and the business development (BD) professionals tasked with building profiles, managing crises, making the whole machine look effortless, and, bluntly, winning clients? Are they included in the wellbeing revolution, or quietly burning out while the free fruit bowl sits untouched?
It’s a question that’s close to the heart of Kim Tasso, a marketing consultant and long-time advisor to professional services firms who also happens to be a qualified psychotherapist. “What I like to say is that what we do is marketing, not magic,” she says. “As marketing and BD professionals, there’s a lot we can do. But without the right support and structure, we’re being set up to fail.”
Kim cites a recent survey showing over 80% of people in marketing and comms report signs of burnout. “It’s a tsunami,” she says. “Marketing people try to do more and better with less and less. We never catch our breath. There’s always a new campaign, a new tool to learn. We don’t stop, reflect, or feel proud of what we’ve done. It’s just on to the next.”
Marketing roles in law firms are especially exposed. They rely on buy-in from fee-earners who often don’t see marketing as their concern. Internal comms is underfunded. BD sits in the crossfire between partner demands and board expectations. The result? Constant context-switching. Low recognition. High emotional labour.
Stress
Kim is quick to say that not all stress is bad. “We all need a certain amount of stress to perform optimally,” she says. The real problem is chronic stress — the kind that lingers and never resolves. This can turn into anxiety and depression. And in most firms, the cause isn’t the workload. It’s the culture. “Culture — everything always comes down to culture,” she says.
She points to toxic achievement, perfectionism, presenteeism, passive-aggressive hierarchy, and the pressure to appear constantly coping. It’s not the hours. It’s the lack of autonomy and the way some firms treat compassion as weakness. She sees suffering senior fee-earners as therapy clients as well as MBD professionals.
Many firms still default to resilience training and mindfulness. But Kim is blunt: “A fruit bowl and a yoga class are not going to help someone who’s being undermined by a bullying manager,” she says. “You can’t wellness your way out of toxic leadership.”
That said, things have improved. “When I started in law firms thirty-odd years ago, some partner behaviour was outrageous. Everybody knew it, but nobody stopped it,” said Kim. “That’s less common now. But change only happens with leadership — the kind that won’t tolerate bad behaviour from anyone.”
Ann-Marie Goodbody, a global marketing and BD leader, knows the cost of burnout firsthand. In 2009, after years of stress, she collapsed at work, was hospitalised and diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. “I was really poorly. I was in bed for over a year, paralysed from the neck down. I was told I might never recover,” she says.
She did recover. And when she returned to work two years later, she brought a promise with her: to help others avoid what she went through.
“I made that promise lying in bed — that if I got out of it, I’d help other people recover quicker than I did.” She’s since trained as a wellness and burnout coach, running a consultancy helping professionals avoid collapse through tailored, preventative support.
Culture
Her message is simple: wellbeing has to be built into culture, and it must be personal. “It can never be one size fits all,” she says. “Are they in their 20s? In their 40s? Going through menopause or divorce? Are they single? Lonely? Do they have aged parents or a brutal commute?”
Appreciation matters too. “Sometimes a quick ‘thank you’ email is enough to lower someone’s stress,” she says.
Ann-Marie also warns that burnout doesn’t always look like a collapse. “The high-functioning, high-performing people often go unnoticed until they hit a wall.”
In well-run firms, people look out for each other. Kirsty Daniel, a Senior Digital Executive at Simmons & Simmons, is a trained Wellbeing Champion. She supports mental health at the firm through resources, awareness and early intervention.
“It’s not just about supporting people when they’re struggling,” she says. “It’s about prevention — getting people to talk early.”
At Simmons, that means walking groups, fitness challenges, wellbeing check-ins and proper access to counselling and coaching. “Wellbeing training covers mental health first aid, resilience and active listening — and it’s structured, not just a tick-box,” Kirsty says.
And she says culture makes a difference: “People take breaks. You don’t feel weird having a chat or getting fresh air. Everyone’s friendly. Even the lawyers.” Daniel also pushes back on “them and us” attitudes. “Some assume lawyers aren’t friendly to business services people. But that’s not what I’ve seen.”
Real change doesn’t come from HR alone — it comes from leadership. “If senior leaders never take a holiday, everyone else feels they can’t either,” says Kim. “But I know one senior partner who takes three weeks off every summer — and posts about it. That gives others permission to rest.”
Ann-Marie agrees. “You need leaders to go first. If they say, ‘I’m struggling,’ others feel they can too.” Even small measures — like asking people not to send non-essential emails after 8pm — can help. “Often, those emails can wait. But receiving them out of hours can ruin someone’s evening.”
Then there’s the darker stuff. Not all suffering is structural. Sometimes it’s personal. Kim sees many professionals suffering in silence because of bullying and toxic behaviour. “They don’t always call it bullying,” she says. “They say there’s a ‘chemistry issue’. But it’s bullying. Abuse. And people leave because of it.”
The silence, she says, is dangerous. “People are scared to speak up — scared of being seen as weak, scared of being passed over.” The only solution? “Zero tolerance from the top.” She mentions US lawyer turned psychologist Traci Cipriano who researched the impact of law firm culture in her book “The Thriving Lawyer”.
A new breed
The good news, however, is that change is happening – and fast. Some firms are investing in proper training. Others are embedding wellbeing into performance frameworks. And a new generation of leaders are ditching burnout-as-status in favour of something more sustainable.
“There is a new breed of accountancy and law firm leaders on the rise,” says Kim. “They’re more self-aware. Less command-and-control. They understand that if you look after people properly, productivity is higher.”
If firms want loyalty, creativity and growth, they’ll have to earn it with empathy, not yoga. That means listening to the people holding the machine together. Backing marketing and BD in front of partners. Giving them a seat at the table, not just a briefing at the end.
Because no fruit bowl or lunchtime Pilates will fix a culture that rewards toxicity and punishes honesty. You can’t bolt wellbeing onto a broken system. You have to rebuild the system with trust, psychological safety and leadership.
As Kirsty puts it: “You just want people to be themselves at work. And if they can do that, they’ll do better at their jobs too.”
Brodies wants to be the model law firm for mental health. Is it getting there?
It’s not fruit on a Friday. That’s the line Emma Newlands comes back to, writes James Lumley.
Wellbeing, she says, can’t be an add-on. It has to be stitched into the culture of a firm – into its office design, billable hour targets, its trauma response playbook and even its architecture. “It’s not just about cholesterol and yoga mats,” she says. “It’s about sustainable performance.”
Emma is the Health and Wellbeing Manager at Brodies, the Scottish law firm that quietly wants to become a blueprint for the industry. And she’s got the data to prove it. “We started with a firm-wide MOT – blood pressure, cholesterol, everything – and built our wellbeing strategy from the results,” she says. “Most firms start with a blank sheet of paper. We didn’t.”
That was six years ago. Since then, Brodies has embedded mental health across its policies, people strategy and internal culture, culminating in ‘Being Brodies Live’ – a 700-person, all-staff day built around the firm’s values: courage, character, care, collegiate and collaborative. It’s not exactly your average partners’ away day.
The firm’s support framework now includes bespoke wellbeing ‘pathways’ for teams and individuals, a full trauma response system (developed initially for the BD and marketing team after a specific incident) and tiered support for issues that go beyond work: chronic illness, NHS access, caring for children or elderly parents.
“We’re seeing more around carers and burnout and individuals who are supporting elderly parents,” says Emma. “These are aspects that are starting to feed in.”
Brodies is also putting its money – and square footage – where its mouth is. Its Edinburgh office won wellbeing accreditation and includes spaces for rest, prayer and breastfeeding. Similar refits are underway across Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness. “These aren’t tick-box spaces,” Emma says. “They’re being used.”
Julie McConnell, who leads BD and marketing and sits on the board, sees the connection between wellbeing and performance. “If someone’s in the wrong role, I try to help them move,” she says. “People should be doing work that gives them energy.” She says her team of nearly 50 is tight-knit, open and proactive about managing the stress that inevitably comes with working in legal marketing.
As a team, they pull together and work hard, “but I very rarely have to respond to emails at night or over the weekend,” she says
Brodies’ billable hours target is set lower than many big firms – 1,200 hours – to reinforce that. Even so, there’s no cap on ambition, Julie says, but it should be sustainable. “People want to stay. Our retention rate is high.”
So, is Brodies a model firm? “We don’t always compare ourselves to others,” Emma says, but that is clearly the ambition.
The framework has been embedded. Work on culture is well underway, and the benefits are generally accepted.
“If people are happy at work, it’s good for the business and good for their careers,” Julie says.
It might seem obvious, but it’s worth repeating.
Further resources on mental health, anxiety, confidence, self-esteem and therapy
My therapy web site is: Tasso Talking Therapy (Please don’t hesitate to telephone or email for an informal and confidential chat about your mental health). I provide in person sessions in Central London and Folkestone as well as online sessions.
Articles
Assertiveness toolbox – Kim Tasso May 2025
What happens in therapy? – Kim Tasso April 2025
Confidence to overcome a fear of failure – Kim Tasso September 2024
my relationships like rollercoaster rides? Volatile relationships (kimtasso.com) August 2024
How do you choose a therapist? – Kim Tasso July 2024
What do you do when your boss is a micro-managing control freak? June 2024
What do you do when a male colleague doesn’t like women? (gender bias) February 2023
Emotional Regulation – A key element of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) (kimtasso.com) August 2021
Dealing with “difficult” people – Nine strategies for dealing with arrogance June 2021
Managing client complaints – Process, anger and apologies June 2021
Resources to help you deal with difficult interactions February 2021
Psychology and business communication (kimtasso.com) January 2015 An introduction to Transactional Analysis (TA) and the Parent Adult Child model
10 tips to increase your resilience – Kim Tasso March 2013
Therapy self-help book reviews
Attached by Dr Amir Levine and Rachel Heller August 2025
Book review – Feel the fear and do it anyway by Susan Jeffers June 2024. Classic self-help book on managing anxiety
Book review – Counselling for toads May 2025. The modern classic explaining Transactional Analysis (TA) using a story by Robert de Board using Toad and other characters from “Wind in the Willows”
Book Review: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle March 2025 A best-selling guide to ceasing your incessant thoughts, focusing on the present “here and now”, spiritual enlightenment and finding inner peace.
Overcoming low self-esteem – a self help guide using cognitive behavioural techniques January 2025
Book review: Taking charge of Adult ADHD by Russell A Barkley (kimtasso.com) October 2024
“Adult children of emotionally immature parents – how to heal (kimtasso.com) August 2024 An excellent book that has helped several clients suffering from anxiety, depression and “failed” relationships. How to recognise emotional, driven, passive and rejecting parenting styles and the coping mechanisms adopted (e.g. people pleasing, high independence etc).
Book reviews on stress and trauma – “When the body says No” (kimtasso.com) June 2024 Review of “When the body says no – The cost of hidden stress” by Gabor Mate and “The body keeps the score – mind, brain and body in the transformation of trauma” by Dr Bessel Van Der Kolk
Book review: The Thriving Lawyer by Traci Cipriano (resilience) (kimtasso.com) June 2024 A review of a book into the mental health and resilience of lawyers in law firm cultures. The author is a former practising attorney and clinical psychologist.
The Tools – Five life-changing techniques to unlock your potential (kimtasso.com) April 2024 A review of the book by psychiatrist Phil Stutz
Book review – Creating self-esteem by Lynda Field (kimtasso.com) March 2024 A classic book on realizing your true self worth
Book review: How to do the work (recognise your patterns (kimtasso.com) December 2023. Review of a book to support psychoeducation. Topics include: conscious self, theory of trauma, mind-body healing practices, inner child, boundaries, reparenting and emotional maturity.
Dr Julie Smith (Mental Health Guidance) (kimtasso.com) July 2023. Review of the book “Why has nobody told me this before?” that explores helpful ideas on low mood and depression, motivation, anxiety, emotional pain, grief, self-doubt, fear, stress and a meaningful life.
Overcoming clinical depression (2021) by Oliver Kamm (kimtasso.com) March 2023. A review of the book “Mending the Mind” which explores what it is like to suffer from depression and both the medical and psychological sources of help.
Lost connections – Why you’re depressed by Johann Hari (kimtasso.com) October 2019. A review of a popular book about the nine common reasons people suffer from depression.
Crazy busy – Book review – Dealing with stress (kimtasso.com) October 2009. This book examines modern life and offers practical advice to avoid stress and restore calm.
Book review: The psychology of successful women by Shona Rowan (kimtasso.com) June 2022. Topics include: confidence, assertiveness, boundaries, public speaking, impact, influence, visibility and bouncing back from setbacks.
Your personal transition – Endings, neutral zone and new beginnings (kimtasso.com) June 2020. Helps you navigate major changes in your life and prepares you for the emotional roller-coaster of change.
Short videos
Soft skills – Boost your self-confidence and confidence (Video) (kimtasso.com) October 2020
Business relationships – Using the drama triangle to resolve conflict (kimtasso.com) September 2020
How the parent, adult, child (PAC) model helps with difficult interactions (kimtasso.com) September 2020
Change process – Emotions when reacting to change (kimtasso.com) April 2020
Building Resilience – Regulation, Reframing, Relationships and Reflection (kimtasso.com) May 2020
