Half (50 per cent) of Canadian workers say they’ve experienced a traumatic event that’s had a significant impact on their mental health, according to Telus Health’s latest mental-health index.
The survey found women were 50 per cent more likely than men to have experienced a traumatic event. In addition, employees aged 40 and younger were 60 per cent more likely than employees aged 50 and older to report a traumatic experience that’s had a lasting negative effect on their mental health.
“The extent to which personal trauma impacts one’s career is significantly underestimated and this mental weight can be a real barrier to personal and professional growth if not addressed properly,” said Juggy Sihota, chief growth officer at Telus Health, in a press release.
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“When employers educate employees about the internal health resources available to them, like an employee assistance program, barriers to care can be broken down. The result is a productive and healthy workforce where employees thrive in their responsibilities while staying physically and mentally fit.”
The index also found Canadians’ mental-health score was 64.3 in March, an increase of 1.4 points compared to February.
A third (33 per cent) of respondents indicated a high mental-health risk, while 44 per cent had a moderate risk and 23 per cent had a low mental-health risk. Employees who self-reported their mental health as being in crisis and who believed their family, friends, managers and co-workers would report the same, had a productivity score 37 points lower than the national score.
As well, employees without emergency savings are eight-times more likely than workers with emergency savings to rate their mental health as very low or in crisis.
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