Mental health charity Mind says that employers need to take employee wellbeing more seriously.

The mental health charity Mind has launched a campaign to help fight against the growing problem of workplace depression as alarming statistics reveal the true extent of the issue.

A populus poll of 2,050 workers conducted by Mind found that since the recession started one in ten have visited their GP for support, while 7% have started a course of medical treatment for depression and 5% had seen a counsellor.

Mind’s research concurs with the latest government statistics on annual prescriptions which revealed a considerable rise in the number of antidepressant prescriptions in 2009. A record 39.1 million were issued by GPs in 2009, compared to 35.9 million in 2008.

Mind’s Chief Executive, Paul Farmer, said: “Considering how much time we spend at work, it is hardly surprising that it can have a huge impact on our mental wellbeing. A bad work environment can be damaging and can trigger a wide range of problems from exhaustion to depression, while having a good working life is proven to be an asset for our overall mental health.”

Mind says that the recession has brought new pressure to workers and attributes longer working hours, low staff morale and staff having to compete against each other as the key factors in mental distress in the workplace.

However, the charity says that although the economic crisis may have exacerbated the issue, workplace mental health problems are nothing new. Previous research has shown that every year one in six people of working age experience a mental health problem.

“Employers and employees have a responsibility to recognise that mental health is an issue in every workforce and make sure they are doing what they can to promote a healthy workplace,” Mr Farmer added.

Multi-millionaire entrepreneur, Duncan Bannatyne, is supporting Mind’s campaign ‘Taking Care of Business’ aimed at helping to improve working environments and working lives. He said: “The recession will really have an impact on many employees, who are a bit insecure in their jobs, who maybe aren’t sure that the company is doing well and are scared in case the company goes into administration, or redundancies are made.

“However, the recession is also a good time for businesses to be working on promoting good staff wellbeing. You’ve got to look after your staff. If you haven’t got staff, you haven’t got a business. It’s as simple as that.”

Mind is calling for employers to invest more in looking after the wellbeing of their staff and says that businesses will reap the rewards of increased productivity and reduced sickness absence by making small, simple changes.