Nuffield Health study reveals where mental health is most impacted by the cost of living crisis

The UK study revealed that 38.24% of full-time workers and 42.69% of part-time workers feel their financial health is worse than in previous years. Meanwhile, 62.56% of full-time and 60.81% of part-time employees also confessed that the cost of living or a change in personal finances has negatively impacted their mental and physical health in the past 12 months. 

According to the charity Mind, the inability to afford day-to-day necessities like food, fuel, and housing costs can lead to mental health problems. 

In Nuffield Health’s survey, women were found to be more likely to have worse financial health, with 64.38% of female respondents agreeing that the cost of living has had an impact on their mental health, compared with 53.4% of men.

However, according to responses from male workers, feelings about the cost of living and its impact on mental health haven’t improved in the last year for them either. In 2023’s survey, 50.65% of male respondents agreed that the cost of living had had an impact on their mental wellbeing, but this year this has increased to 53.4%.

Unsurprisingly, salary was also a cause of financial concern, as the lower the salary, the higher the percentage of worse net financial health. Data showed that 66.17% of those earning less than £15,000 were impacted, followed by those earning between £15,001 and £25,000, with 64.16% feeling concerned.  

Northern Ireland is the area of the UK most affected by the cost of living and concerns about financial health, with 63.68% reporting feeling affected, followed by the northeast of England with 62.58%, and Wales with 60.98%.  

Meanwhile, the industries with the most employees affected by the cost of living include sales, media and marketing, with 75.76% of surveyed employees agreeing that the cost of living had negatively impacted their mental health. 

The healthcare sector was the second most affected industry, with 65.46% of employees reporting that their mental health had been impacted by financial strain, followed by the architecture, engineering, and building industries, with 63.88% of workers affected. 

The Nuffield Trust recently revealed that, since the pandemic, there has been a 30% increase in the number of people paying out of their own pocket for hospital care.