Many Canadian employers struggling to manage workers’ mental health

Are employers facing a mental health management crisis?

Overall, there was a 140% increase year-on-year in the number of employers struggling to manage poor mental health across their workforce, finds a survey of employers in Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.

 “The Lancet Commission estimates that by 2030, the cost to global business from mental health will reach $16 trillion. So, it's critical that employers take this seriously,” says Alan Price, COO of the Peninsula Group which did the survey.

Nearly half of employees across the world are suffering from burnout, according to a previous report.

Poor mental health at work

Overall, there has been a 30% increase in the number of employees experiencing poor mental health, according to Peninsula’s survey of 79,000 businesses in May.

Also, mental health-related sickness absence increased 20% in the last 12 months.

Despite the desire for mental health support, 62.3% of Canadian employees rarely or never access mental health services, and many cite cost as the reason, according to a previous study.

Supporting mental health among workers

Year over year, 40% more employers are offering support for mental health, according to Peninsula. And there has been a 63% increase in the number of SMEs with mental health first aiders in place.

However, when workers do speak out about their mental health, one in three of those who spoke to their boss said that nothing was done, found Peninsula.

"There is still work to be done to ensure that global workplaces are healthy and happy, both physically and mentally, but it's clear that progress is being made,” says Price. “The willingness of people to speak about mental health concerns and a change in workplace attitude towards them are major steps in the right direction."

More than half of employees across the world cite increasing work stress as a top challenge to human sustainability, according to a previous Deloitte report.