More than two-thirds (70 per cent) of Canadian workers with disabilities say they don’t feel valued at work, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest mental-health index.
The survey’s respondents reported an overall mental-health score of 64.3, down slightly from 64.9 in October.
Apart from optimism (66.4), all mental-health scores declined from October to November, with anxiety (57.7), isolation (59.5) and work productivity (62.1) at their lowest points for seven consecutive months. General psychological health (72.1) was the most favourable mental-health score in November.
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More than half (59 per cent) of employees said they feel cared about at work and this group reported a mental-health score of 70.4. However, employees who said they don’t feel cared about at work (17 per cent) reported a mental-health score of 51.
The majority (80 per cent) of employees said they can be themselves at work and this group reported a mental-health score of 68.3. By comparison, employees who said they’re unsure (11 per cent) or can’t be themselves at work (nine per cent) reported mental-health scores of 48.3 and 47.7, respectively.
Notably, the survey found workers with disabilities were more than twice as likely to indicate they can’t be themselves at work, while LGBTQ2S+ Canadians and visible minorities are 50 per cent more likely to indicate they can’t be themselves.
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Employees who said their employer values diversity (74 per cent) reported a mental-health score of 67.4, while employees who said their organization doesn’t value diversity had a score of 50.4.
And while three-quarters (74 per cent) of employees said they don’t experience negative comments from their manager, nearly a fifth (15 per cent) said they regularly receive negative comments. These groups reported mental-health scores of 68.4 and 51.8, respectively.