While the NOTHING PERSONAL project continues to put a face on the more obvious pain inflicted by the global financial crisis, new research details trouble beneath the surface.

On APEsphere we have often noted the negative impact on happiness of contemporary business practices, but the global recession has made the problem all the more acute within the workplace itself.

According to the research by UK mental health charity MIND, one in fourteen British workers is now on anti-depressants. Other findings include: 10% have seen a doctor as a result of work-related stress; 8% left work last year because of job-related stress;  5% of staff have seen a counselor; half of those questioned reported staff morale as low; antidepressant prescriptions rose from 35.9 million in 2008 to 39.1 million in 2009.

Meanwhile, research by the Shaw Trust found that half of UK managers think their staff do not suffer from mental illness.

Mooted solutions include:

• ensuring staff take breaks


• giving staff opportunities to raise concerns without fear of reprisal


• better availability of psychological therapies as well as medication


• counselling services


• more innovative approaches, such as BT's vegetable garden