With mental health issues related to major life events costing the Australian economy $10.7 billion and 18.5 million working days a year, new modelling from Bupa and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) has found earlier mental health support could save the economy $219 million and recover 403,000 working days annually.
The global study, which surveyed Australian consumers, investigated how major life events, including returning to work after becoming a parent, losing a loved one, caring for a relative, getting divorced and even getting married can affect health, absenteeism and workplace productivity. Globally these issues are resulting in $636 billion in lost productivity and 1.7 billion working days per year.
Australians who took proactive steps to manage their mental health such as talking to friends and family, seeking professional support or speaking to a healthcare provider, took an average of two fewer days off work each year. Around 70 per cent of Australian respondents said they wished they had taken earlier action before or during a major life event.
Bupa Healthcare Services Managing Director, Guneet Sawhney said: "We often spend a lot of time preparing financially and practically for life's biggest moments, but give far less thought to the impact they can have on our mental health.
"What stands out in this research is how many people wish they had sought support earlier. Whether becoming a parent, caring for a loved one, or coping with loss, our mental wellbeing shapes how we experience those moments," Mr Sawhney said.
The research is a clear signal to employers that major life events don't stop at the workplace door. Helping employees access mental health support earlier can protect wellbeing and reduce the impact on productivity, absence and performance.
"At our Mindplace mental health clinics, we want to help people take a proactive approach to their mental health support. By making support easier to recognise and access, we can help more people navigate life's biggest moments with greater confidence and resilience," Mr Sawhney said.
Respondents globally who had experienced one or more major life events reported reduced concentration at work and difficulty focusing (53%), emotional overwhelm (69%) and lower confidence (52%), all indicators of presenteeism that contribute to lower overall economic productivity. These findings highlight a clear opportunity to improve mental wellbeing and workplace productivity by encouraging proactive mental health support before and during major life events.
Commenting on the findings, Liam Daly, Senior Economist at Cebr, said: "Life's biggest moments, the joyful ones and the difficult ones alike, rarely stay confined to our personal lives. They follow us into work too, often in ways that are easy to underestimate.
"Drawing on primary research across multiple national markets, we set out to measure how much these moments disrupt working life, and what that disruption is actually worth," Mr Daly said.
"The findings are significant and point to a key factor shaping the scale of the cost for any given person: preparation. People who take proactive steps to support their mental and physical health around these moments tend to see a smaller dip in productivity than those who don't.
"Together, the findings offer a clearer picture of just how much major life events can affect people and their ability to focus at work, and how much of the resulting personal and economic impact could be reduced if people had the chance to prepare for them," he added.
Mindplace centres offer psychology sessions, alongside complimentary physical allied health services such as occupational therapy and exercise physiology in recognition that mental health is complex, and people often need more than one discipline to achieve better wellbeing outcomes.
