Canadians equally stressed at work as they are in their personal lives

LifeWorks Mental Health Index^™ finds volume of work, performance demands and lack of support primary sources of work stress

TORONTO, ON –/COMMUNITYWIRE/– LifeWorks, a leading provider of digital and in-person total wellbeing solutions, today released its monthly Mental Health Index™ that showed an even split between 26 per cent of Canadians indicating that work stressors are their primary sources of stress, and 26 per cent of individuals citing personal stressors.

The Index found that Canadian workers are experiencing increasing strain as the mental health score declines after four months of improvement.

• The Mental Health Index™ score for June 2022 is 64.1 points out of one hundred, declining from May’s score of 64.9 points.

Canadians are feeling stressed at work and home, resulting in a variety of negative impacts

• The 26 per cent of Canadians that report work stressors as their primary source of stress cite volume of work (25 per cent), performance demands (14 per cent) and lack of support (12 per cent) as the leading sources.
• The 26 per cent of Canadians that report personal stressors as their primary source of stress cite difficulties sleeping (31 per cent), inability to relax (28 per cent), and emotional changes such as anxiety and depression (27 per cent).
• Seventy-four per cent of Canadians report feeling some impact of personal and/or work stress.

Canadians who felt their mental wellbeing was supported by their employer during the pandemic have among the highest mental health scores

• Employees who felt their mental health was supported by their employer during the pandemic have a mental health score more than seven points higher than the national average and nearly 15 points higher than those who did not feel their mental health was supported.
• Employees who felt supported reported the top two actions their employers took were offering flexibility (51 per cent) and promoting mental health services and resources (41 per cent).

Comments from president and chief executive officer, Stephen Liptrap
“We focus a lot on work issues as a source of stress, but it is important to note that personal issues are equally impactful. On top of that, while many organizations have marked the recent months as a return to a semblance of normalcy, it is clear we are not out of the woods just yet. We have not seen a collective mental health score this low since January, which signals that conversations surrounding employee wellbeing and support should be continuing to ramp up, not slow down.”

Comments from global leader and senior vice president, research and total wellbeing, Paula Allen
“The data makes it clear that those who feel that their mental health is supported by their employer are in a better place. Work is an essential part of life and the support that employers can provide help people deal with all issues – both personal and work related. There are two parts to this opportunity. One is the workplace experience where people benefit from flexibility, psychological safety and a sense of belonging. The other is providing resources for individuals and their families, including offering and promoting an employee and family assistance program and related programs and benefits. Both types of support are critical.”

The full Canadian LifeWorks Mental Health Index™ report can be found here. This month, the report includes additional insights on mental health perception, Canadians’ comfortability discussing mental health, pandemic silver linings and mental health support. To receive LifeWorks Mental Health Index™ every month, subscribe here.

About the Mental Health Index™
The monthly survey by LifeWorks was conducted through an online survey in English and French from June 3 to 13, 2022 with 3,000 respondents in Canada. 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 this population. The Mental Health Index™ is published monthly, beginning April 2020, and compares against benchmark data collected in 2017, 2018, 2019.

Beginning in May 2022, corresponding to the third year of the Mental Health Index™ by LifeWorks, scores are represented as absolute. To create the Mental Health Index™, a response scoring system is applied to turn individual responses into point values. Higher point values are associated with better mental health and less mental health risk. Scores between 0 to 49 correspond with distress levels, scores between 50 to 79 correspond with strain levels and scores between 80 to 100 correspond with optimal levels.

About LifeWorks
LifeWorks is a world leader in providing digital and in-person solutions that support the total wellbeing of individuals – mental, physical, financial and social. As the trusted leader in mental health and wellbeing, LifeWorks delivers a personalized continuum of care that helps our clients improve the lives of their people and by doing so, improve their business. Guided by our purpose to improve lives and improve business, we help our clients improve the wellbeing of their people, we help them improve workforce engagement and productivity, thereby improving the performance of our clients’ organizations. LifeWorks is a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: LWRK). The Company has approximately 7,000 employees, 25,000 clients, and serves 36 million individuals and their families around in more than 160 countries.

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Contacts

Brontë Campbell
LifeWorks
media@lifeworks.com
1-855-622-3327

Jennifer Farr
Kaiser & Partners
jennifer.farr@kaiserpartners.com
1-416-910-5221