Is work affecting your mental health? What GP data shows

Work can be demanding without necessarily damaging your mental health. There will be busy weeks, difficult conversations and days when switching off takes longer than usual.

The line becomes less clear when worry, low mood or poor sleep start following you home. You may still be meeting deadlines and turning up each morning, but feel increasingly tense, flat or exhausted underneath.

A new DocTap Health Pulse analysis examined 1,995 GP appointments involving adults who came to us about anxiety, depression or low mood. Work was recorded as a prompting or contributing factor in 39% of appointments—almost twice the 20% linked to relationships or family life.

Other recorded factors included physical health in 7% of appointments, bereavement in 6%, and money or housing in 6%. In 30% of appointments, no particular cause was recorded. Anxiety and low mood do not always have one clear explanation, and you do not need to identify the cause before asking for support.

Work was the most frequently recorded factor in every age group. It featured in 42% of appointments among people aged 35 to 44 and 35% among those aged 45 to 54. The figures were also similar for men and women, at 40% and 37% respectively.

Where work was recorded as a factor, the most common issues were:

• Heavy workload, long hours or burnout
• Difficulties with a manager or colleagues
• Returning to work after a period away
• Job insecurity, redundancy concerns or organisational change

These pressures can affect people differently. One person may feel constantly on edge, while another becomes withdrawn or loses motivation. Some notice the physical effects first, such as headaches, a racing heart, muscle tension or an unsettled stomach.

Most people in the appointments where work featured had not stopped working. Thirty-five per cent were still working but finding it difficult to cope. A further 24% were working with no specific difficulty recorded, while 20% were off work because of their health.

As Dr Gugulethu Ndlovu, the GP who reviewed the report, explains: “Still going to work doesn’t necessarily mean someone is coping.”

People often delay seeking help because they are still functioning. They may be answering emails, caring for their family and keeping appointments while feeling increasingly unwell. You do not have to wait until you cannot work before asking for support.

DocTap’s findings describe our patients and are not estimates for the whole country. However, national figures also show the scale of work-related mental ill health.

The Health and Safety Executive reported that an estimated 964,000 workers in Great Britain experienced work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2024/25. These conditions accounted for an estimated 22.1 million lost working days.

The national figures measure self-reported work-related illness, whereas our analysis examined factors recorded during GP appointments. The two datasets cannot be compared directly, but both show that mental health at work is far from unusual.

A difficult week does not automatically mean that you have an anxiety disorder or depression. It may be time to seek support when changes persist, affect several areas of your life or make ordinary tasks harder.

Signs may include:

• Dreading work or feeling anxious before the working week begins
• Being unable to switch off after work
• Sleeping poorly or waking with thoughts about work
• Feeling tearful, irritable, flat or on edge most days
• Losing interest in things you normally enjoy
• Struggling to concentrate, make decisions or complete familiar tasks
• Avoiding colleagues, meetings or messages
• Relying more heavily on alcohol or other substances to unwind
• Developing physical symptoms such as headaches, palpitations or appetite changes

A GP can help assess the whole picture rather than assuming every symptom is caused by stress.

Medical support is only one part of the picture. Practical changes at work may also help, particularly when workload, hours, conflict or a difficult return after absence is contributing to the problem.

Depending on your circumstances, it may help to discuss:

• Temporary changes to workload or deadlines
• More regular check-ins with a manager
• A quieter working environment
• Adjusted hours or working patterns
• A phased return after sickness absence
• Access to occupational health or an employee assistance programme

You do not have to disclose every detail of your mental health to colleagues. A GP can provide a fit note or supporting medical letter when clinically appropriate. A fit note may suggest changes that could help you return to or remain at work, although the employer decides whether those adjustments can be accommodated.

You do not need to arrive with a diagnosis or a perfectly organised explanation. A mental health GP appointment usually begins with a conversation about what has changed, how long it has been happening and how it is affecting your work and life.

The GP may ask about your mood, anxiety, energy, sleep, appetite, concentration, physical symptoms, medication, alcohol or substance use, previous treatment and whether you have had thoughts about harming yourself.

Treatment is individual. It may involve practical advice, talking therapy, medication or a combination. Medication is not automatically prescribed, and its possible benefits, side effects and alternatives should be discussed with you.

Follow-up appointments can be important. In the Health Pulse data, around two in three appointments were reviews rather than first appointments. A review gives the GP an opportunity to see whether symptoms are changing and adjust the plan when necessary.

A GP and a counsellor have different roles, and some people use both.

A mental health GP appointment may be a sensible starting point if you want your symptoms medically assessed, are concerned about depression or anxiety, want to discuss medication, have physical symptoms, or may need a fit note or medical letter.

Counselling provides more time to explore feelings, experiences and patterns over a series of sessions. It may help with work pressure, confidence, boundaries, perfectionism, relationships and coping with change. A counsellor cannot prescribe medication or issue medical documents, but can provide ongoing support alongside treatment from a GP.

DocTap’s mental health service offers GP and counselling appointments in person or by video. You can start with either and use both if your needs change. If you live in England, you can also refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies without first obtaining a GP referral.

Consider speaking to a GP or another mental health professional if your symptoms have persisted for more than a couple of weeks, are getting worse, affect sleep, work or relationships, make ordinary tasks difficult, or leave you feeling hopeless or unable to cope.

You do not need to prove that work is responsible. The purpose of the appointment is to understand what is happening and decide what support may help.

If you feel unable to keep yourself safe, or believe someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E. For urgent mental health help that is not an immediate emergency, call NHS 111 and select the mental health option. The NHS also explains where to get urgent mental health support. You can call Samaritans free on 116 123 at any time of day or night.

The analysis covered 1,995 appointments involving 1,053 DocTap patients aged 25 to 64. It reflects factors recorded by GPs during appointments. It cannot prove that work caused a person’s anxiety or low mood, and an unrecorded factor may still have been important.

People using a private GP may also be more likely to be employed than the wider population. The figures should not be treated as estimates for all UK adults.

The value of the findings is in showing what people discuss when they ask a GP for help. Work appeared repeatedly—not only among people who had stopped working, but among many who were still turning up while finding it difficult to cope.

Read the full Health Pulse report for the complete findings, methodology and limitations.