A third (29 per cent) of Canadian workers say that they don’t have enough emergency savings to cover basic needs, according to Telus Health’s latest mental-health index.
The survey, which polled roughly 3,000 employees, found the average mental-health score was 64, up from 63.1 in March. Anxiety (57) continued to be the lowest mental-health sub-score, followed by isolation (60.4), depression (62.8), work productivity (63.4), optimism (65.1) and financial risk (68.3). General psychological health (71.3) remained the most favourable mental-health measure.
A third (33 per cent) of workers have a high mental-health risk, while 44 per cent have a moderate mental-health risk and 23 per cent have a low mental-health risk.
Read: 36% of Canadian employees feel overwhelmed by responsibilities, commitments: survey
Workers without emergency savings continue to experience a lower average mental-health score (36.2) than the overall group (64). Workers with emergency savings reported an average mental-health score of 69.1.
Nearly three-quarters of workers said they lack confidence in their financial future, with women more likely to feel financially vulnerable. Six per cent said they’re not at all confident about their financial future and this group reported an average mental-health score of 36. By comparison, 28 per cent of workers said they’re very confident in their financial future and this group reported an average score of 79.
Notably, a fifth (19 per cent) of employees said they’ve reduced their spending on health and wellness and women are 50 per cent more likely than men to have reduced their spending in this way. This group’s average mental-health score 51.7.
Read: 36% of Canadian employees feel overwhelmed by responsibilities, commitments: survey