Research also found worrying trend of workplace conflict entering top reasons for contacting the charity
NABS’ H1 statistics, released today, reveal a starkly growing mental health crisis among adlanders.
Mental health-related calls to NABS now account for more than a quarter (28%) of all contact to the industry’s charity and 66% of all emotional support calls – the latter representing a 128% rise from 2021.
Calls to NABS’ Advice Line have increased by 20% this year as people reach out for urgent and impartial support.
Emotional support remains the top overall reason for people contacting NABS, accounting for 41% of all calls.
Financial support requests remain in second place as a reason for contact, accounting for 14% of all calls.
However, a new third reason is disrupting NABS’ usage trends. While redundancy usually makes the top three reasons for contact, it has been replaced by a category making it to third place: conflict in the workplace.
Conflict in the workplace now accounts for more than one in 10 of calls. This issue includes bullying and harassment and its notable appearance in NABS’ stats demonstrates a challenging return to office for hundreds of adlanders.
In another change, NABS’ therapy is now taking the lead over its popular grants service. Eleven people a month are now being referred to specialist and tailored therapy by NABS’ expert support advisors, where they can benefit from a minimum of seven free sessions to support them through a wide range of challenges.
The top three themes in NABS’ coaching sessions so far this year are career direction, career crossroads and confidence. Backing up NABS’ key stats, more and more people are raising mental health concerns in their coaching sessions.
Emerging trends for NABS and the industry to monitor are work-life balance and the tension between younger workers wanting to socialise more and the number of teams working from home, making it difficult for people to mix.
Uzma Afridi, head of careers, NABS, says: “The past few years have been challenging and we’ve found that clients are using their coaching space to discuss everything they’ve been through, even though it’s not necessarily what they’ve initially come to us for. We’re here to help them reflect on their experiences and how they can move forwards with confidence.”
Sue Todd, CEO, NABS, says, “We all need to take note of the rising mental health challenges across the sector, and particularly this suggestion that conflict in the workplace is rising. Pressure and change are often catalysts for a more challenging workplace environment and we do have some headwinds that could create a perfect storm for individuals and organisations right now. Changing or mismatched expectations around ways of working; significant movement and recruitment of people into new roles and growing financial pressures at an organisational and personal level make for a heady combination.
“NABS is here to help, from giving tailored support to individuals who need an external and neutral space to talk and share challenges, to providing learning programmes aimed at helping managers to become inclusive and more effective leaders.”
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