Exclusive: Business creates surge in workplace confidantes to confront mental illness

Britain is training record numbers of workplace “mental health first aiders” to confront a sharp rise in people expressing mental distress, though evidence of success is mixed, according to a Guardian study.

Requests sent to every FTSE 100 company show that they alone have trained more than 10,000 staffers, while mid-tier and even tiny businesses are appointing first responders who can be approached confidentially by those suffering from depression, anxiety, stress and other conditions.