Thirty-five percent of managers said they had experienced more turnover in the last year.
The Telus Mental Health Index in August 2022 introduced a Workplace Culture Score, which asked workers to rate their workplace across nine factors and rate them on a scale from one to 10—things such as how competitive and inflexible a workplace is, how hard-driving and “cliquish” the environment, and other factors such as if the job is demotivating, uncaring, or stagnant.
Not surprisingly, the higher a workplace scores for “workplace culture,” the lower the reported turnover and the higher the work productivity, in addition to workers who report better mental health.
Of the workers surveyed by Telus Health, 31 percent had a high mental health risk, while 45 percent had a moderate mental health risk. Twenty-five percent were considered to have a low mental health risk, although scores did go up from the June report to the July report.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, the Maritimes, and B.C., scores for mental health in July declined, while all other provinces saw a boost in scores from June.
Close to one-third of workers surveyed said they wanted better control over their health, while 38 percent wanted better control of their finances and 20 percent wanted better control over their emotions.
“The mental health score of workers who have full control over their work is 36 points higher than workers with no control and more than 15 points higher than the national average,” said the report.
Women were more likely than men to report feeling they had no control over their work, their finances, or their health, while workers under the age of 40 were more likely to feel they had no control over their emotions or finances.
A number of workers, 23 percent, said they had taken medication for their mental health and 46 percent said they had to try more than one medication. Another 32 percent said it took more than a year to get the best treatment, while 12 percent reported they are still struggling with the right medication or dose to be the most effective.
Those who were considering leaving their jobs had a mental health score 13 points lower than workers who didn’t plan a job change, and nine points lower than the national average.
Among those who responded, 4 percent were unemployed and 8 percent reported reduced hours or salary. Those with reduced salary had the lowest mental health score, closely followed by individuals working less hours. Managers had a higher mental health score than non-managers, while labourers had a lower mental health score than service workers and office staff.
Those who own their own businesses and reported being self-employed had the highest mental health score, while workers who worked for companies with 51 to 100 employees had the lowest mental health score by employment status.
Comparing industries, employees working in Administrative and Support Services have the lowest mental health score in July 2023, followed by individuals working in Information and Cultural Industries, or Food Services.
Respondents employed in the Automotive industry, Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction, and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services had the highest mental health scores in July.
The survey by Telus Health was conducted through an online survey in English and French from July 8 to July 26, with 3,000 respondents.
Telus Health provides global health care to more than 160 countries.
