# The economic cost of poor mental health

- **Episode:** [195](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/195.md) (2025-05-08)
- **Type:** interview
- **Tags:** mental-health, economic-cost, workplace
- **Time:** 13:19–15:05 (start 799s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/195?t=799](https://truthliesandwork.com/195?t=799)

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[13:19] Sarah Hughes: Well, you know, the cost, the economic cost, um, to— so for the, for instance, in the workplace, uh, the cost of mental illness is around £56 billion a year. So the economic case is very strong. It's very strong in terms of if we don't invest in prevention and people, you know, people find out often if they have mental illness or they're going to experience mental illness before the age of 25. So as a result of that, you know, we know that if we could invest early, get people into services and support when they need it, we can get them back into thriving lives. So again, it's about You know, then people can become part of their communities. We can see relationships and the economy blooming. You know, it means everything. And the idea that physical and mental health are not equally important is something that I've never understood personally. You know, for me, I've always— it's always made sense to me that they're inextricably linked. But we do so much in terms of our policy and our funding decisions that separates them off. And as a result of that, we are disadvantaging the nation's mental and physical health. People with serious mental illness often die 20 years before everybody else. Um, and that is a global fact, but a fact in a country that has universal healthcare is one that shouldn't be happening
[14:50] Leanne Elliott: You're so passionate about mental health and advocating for change and making things better. I'm curious, Sarah, you said you're qualified social worker. I guess, why did you choose social work in the first place, and what made you transition into senior leadership?