LifeWorks released its monthly Mental Health Index™ on Friday, revealing that for the 25th consecutive month, Canadian workers had a mental health score lower than 0.0 — the pre-pandemic benchmark.
“Canadians have been experiencing nonstop changes and uncertainties for over two years, and time has not made it any easier to navigate the ongoing turbulence,” says Paula Allen, LifeWorks senior vice president. “In fact, long-term strain is actually driving the increased sensitivity to stress.”
She said that while life has begun to return to a sense of normalcy for some, others are carrying the weight of stressful world events.
“Employers should be aware that a return to pre-pandemic routines does not mean a return to pre-pandemic mental health,” said Allen. “Now is not the time to ease back on the focus on mental health supports and services, and in fact, the opposite is true.”
LifeWorks president and CEO, Stephen Liptrap, says the research shows a modest mental health improvement this past month.
The Mental Health Index™ score for April 2022 is -10.0; a half-point improvement from March’s score of -10.5.
“While this is encouraging to see, stressors inside and outside of the workplace continue to make it challenging for individuals to manage their wellbeing in a healthy way,” says Liptrap. “It is important for employers to recognize there is often more than meets the eye when it comes to how employees are feeling, and that providing ongoing communication and support is critical to ensure employee mental health remains a top priority.”
The Index found that 46 per cent of Canadians are feeling an increased sensitivity to stress. It found that compared to pre-pandemic, many Canadians are expressing more stress-sensitivity concerns about themselves and their colleagues.
Forty-nine per cent of working Canadians have noticed their colleagues are more sensitive to stress, with 46 per cent indicating the same for themselves and 22 per cent unsure.
Canadians with a reduced salary or fewer hours are more than 30 per cent more likely to feel sensitive to stress compared to before the pandemic.
Seventeen per cent of Canadians struggling with stress or their mental health are unlikely to reach out for professional help.
The monthly survey by LifeWorks was conducted online in English and French from April 7 to 22, 2022 with 3,000 respondents. All respondents reside in Canada and were employed within the last six months. The data has been statistically weighted to ensure the regional and gender composition of the sample reflect the population.
