Morneau Shepell just released its monthly Mental Health Index Report, revealing a still negative mental health score in the country for the eleventh consecutive month.
The Mental Health Index score for February is -11,5, indicating a continued decline in mental health compared to the pre-2020 benchmark.
The February score is slightly higher than January (-11.7) and the same as May 2020. In February, the lowest sub-score is depression (-13.9), which is slightly lower than January (-13.4) and nearly identical to the outset of the pandemic (-14.0 in April 2020).
This highlights the damaging impact that continued stress and mental strain are having on Canadians’ overall health, which has the potential to result in significant harm if left unaddressed.
“The extreme isolation and loneliness that we reported in recent months is having a direct impact on Canadians’ mental wellbeing, with many people feeling the same level of depression that was reported almost one year ago when it was at its lowest point,” said Stephen Liptrap, president and chief executive officer.
Uncertainty about immunization timelines has left Canadians questioning when they will be able to return to the routines they had in place before the pandemic. Through these times of prolonged uncertainty and isolation, organizations have an added responsibility to pay close attention to their team members’ needs and watch for indicators of worsening mental strain, to ensure employees are set up for success both within and outside of the workplace.”
Canadians concerned that revealing mental health issues will impact workplace and personal relationships
Mental health continues to be a taboo subject for many Canadians, despite increased efforts to reduce the associated stigma. The research found that 44% of Canadians believe that their career options would be limited if their employer was aware that they had a mental health issue.
Within this group, half of managers (50%) anticipate their career would be impacted if their employer knew of a mental health issue, compared to 39% of non-managers.
Mental health also continues to be an uncomfortable topic to broach with friends, with 37% of respondents indicating that they believe they would be treated differently if their friends learned they had a mental health issue.
When broken out by age, young Canadians reported being more concerned about limited career options after revealing they are struggling with a mental health issue than older demographics (54% among individuals aged 20 to 29, compared to 38% among those 60 and above).
Canadians with declining wellbeing relying on unhealthy coping mechanisms
The continued pandemic-driven strain on mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing has led some Canadians to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with the cumulative stress and uncertainty, such as increased alcohol consumption.
The research found that 14% of respondents increased alcohol consumption early in the pandemic (March to May 2020), and more than half of respondents (52%) reported that they have maintained the same level of alcohol consumption in recent months (October 2020 to January 2021) when compared to early in the pandemic.
An additional 9% of respondents indicated that alcohol consumption has increased from October 2020 to January 2021, when compared with early in the pandemic.
Respondents who reported increased alcohol consumption early in the pandemic also reported the lowest mental health score (-20.7) compared to those who do not drink (-9.9), or those who decreased their alcohol consumption (-12.8).
“If organizations had any question as to whether implementing a holistic mental health strategy would benefit employees, we hope our data makes this clear. It’s evident that while employees may not reveal they are struggling with their mental health, many are struggling in silence and coping in ways that do more harm than good,” said Paula Allen, global leader and senior vice president, research and total wellbeing. “The pandemic has presented employers with an opportunity to build trust with their employees and improve retention for the long term, by providing the support they need to not only overcome the challenges brought on by the pandemic. The pandemic has made it clear that the wellbeing of Canadian workers is a priority.”
Methodology
This monthly survey by Morneau Shepell was conducted through an online survey in English and French from January 15 to January 25, 2021, 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.
