The number of Australians making workplace mental health insurance claims has jumped by nearly 20 per cent in the past year, in a trend that is likely to resonate strongly across high-pressure industries such as the technology sector.

Research from Allianz shows work is taking a growing toll on employees’ mental and physical health, with nearly 2 million Australians estimated to be losing sleep due to job-related stress.

The number of primary psychological workers’ compensation claims made with Allianz increased by more than 17 per cent over the past year.

In total, more than 40 per cent of psychological claims now relate to mental stress and work pressure, with these injuries costing 2.7 times more than physical ones.

While the data spans the entire workforce, the findings are particularly relevant to technology professionals, who often face tight deadlines, rapid change and heavy cognitive workloads.

Losing sleep

Workplace burnout is having a widespread impact, with nearly 2 million Australians estimated to be losing sleep due to work-related stress. The figure is based on 18 per cent of survey respondents reporting sleep disruption, extrapolated across the workforce.

Despite growing awareness, nearly three-quarters of workers say their organisations do not have a clear strategy to address burnout — a gap that is likely to be felt in fast-paced sectors like technology.

This is despite Australian businesses earmarking more than $36 billion for wellbeing and cultural initiatives, with one in 10 companies planning to spend more than $100,000 this year alone.

However, three-quarters of workers say they still don’t have a clear avenue to report burnout to their manager.

“We know organisations care deeply about their people, but there’s a clear opportunity for leaders to incorporate feedback from employees to improve their approach to workplace culture, job design and support,” Allianz Australia national manager of mental health strategy in personal injury Brianna Cattanach said.

“It’s a critical time for organisations to evaluate if their current wellbeing and cultural initiatives are positively impacting their employees.”

What workers want

Almost half of the surveyed workers said they wanted their employer to invest in mental health days and wellbeing leave, while nearly one in three want initiatives to reduce administrative and unnecessary tasks that can lead to cognitive overload in the workplace.

Nearly one in five workers would consider negotiating their salary, or even accepting a pay cut, in exchange for flexible or hybrid working arrangements, a model widely adopted in the technology sector.

There has been a significant increase in the number of workplace mental health insurance claims in recent years.

According to Allianz there was a near-30 per cent rise in primary psychology workers’ compensation between the 2021 and 2025 financial years.

The average time off work for these claims has increased by 10 per cent, reaching 81 days, while the average cost has climbed to more than $46,000.

One way for employers to potentially avoid these claims is to introduce a four-day working week, which has been found to improve the mental and physical health of workers.

A report from last year found that up to one in five Australian workers are “languishing” in their current job and dissatisfied with their work, and that this is having a potentially billion-dollar impact on productivity.

There have also been calls recently for Australians to work from home if they are able to in order to help with the fuel crisis.

Working from home will soon be a legal right for all workers in Victoria under state government reforms, with those at large companies having a right to work at least two days per week from home.

This will apply to small businesses from July next year.