Some continue to suffer from burnout, and some find it difficult to disconnect
The mental health of Canadian workers remains under strain as their mental health scores stay below pre-pandemic levels, with employees having a hard time disconnecting from work and suffering from burnout.
According to the latest report from LifeWorks, the Mental Health Index score of Canadian employees for March 2022 is -10.5, a slight improvement from February's -10.6, but still way below the pre-pandemic 0.0 benchmark.
The score came after more than a quarter or 28% of Canadian employees have trouble disconnecting after regular work hours, with their mental health score at -19.3 points, nearly nine points below the national average the lowest recorded.
The report further revealed that managers are 35% more likely than non-managers to be able to disconnect from work after the usual work hours, while respondents under 40 are 70% more likely than those older than 50 to be unable to disconnect from work after usual work hours.
More than half (51%) of those who have difficulty disconnecting said this is because they have too much work to do during their work hours, according to the report, with managers 50% more likely than non-managers to report cite this reason.
On the other hand, nearly three-quarters or 72% of employees can disconnect from work after the enforced hours, with these workers reporting the highest mental health score (-6.7), four points better than the national average.
Stephen Liptrap, president and chief executive officer of LifeWorks, said in a statement that struggles on disconnecting from work is not new, but the recent change of working from home and hybrid work exacerbated this.
"Employers are starting to realize that the mental health impact of pandemic disruption will be with us for quite some time. As the worksite is now overlapped with home, the benefits of flexibility can easily be countered by lack of separation from work," Liptrap said.
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Meanwhile, close to half (42%) of Canadians said they end their day feeling mentally and/or physically exhausted, with these employees reporting a -26.3 mental health score.
Respondents who are younger than 40 are also 50% more likely than employees older than 50 to feel mentally and/or exhausted at the end of their workday.
In terms of motivation to do work, about 35% said they are finding it difficult to remain motivated for work, with those younger than 40 years old about 60% more likely to find it more difficult to be motivated to do their work.
On the other hand, nearly half of the respondents (49%) are not finding it difficult to be motivated to do work, reporting the highest mental health score of 1.7.
In terms of concentration, about 27% admitted that they are finding it more difficult to concentrate on their work, compared to the 58% who do not find it difficult to do so.
Interestingly, respondents younger than 40 are twice more likely to find it more difficult to concentrate. Parents are also 40% more likely than non-parents to find it hard to concentrate, while managers are 50% more likely than non-managers to find it difficult to concentrate at work.
With these results, Paula Allen, global leader and senior vice president, research and total wellbeing, said in a statement that it "could not be any clearer" that signs of burnout are present.
"This is an issue for health, productivity, engagement, and retention. Motivation decreases with burnout, not because people no longer care about their work, but because they lack the energy to engage fully," said Allen.
"In many cases we are also seeing another indicator of burnout, which is increased cynicism and conflict. This is a significant risk for organisational culture and productivity."
"The solutions need to address the burnout itself with appropriate services and require employers to understand the conditions creating burnout for their employees."
