What You Should Know:
- TELUS Health today released its monthly Mental Health Index which revealed that workers who collaborate with others in the workplace have a better mental health score than those who work exclusively independently.
- The Index also showed that the mental health scores of workers who do not feel supported in their mental health and wellbeing by their employers scored 10 points below the national average.
Collaboration aligns with better mental health
- Nearly two in five (37 percent) workers report needing to collaborate with coworkers all the time; this group has the highest mental health score (72.9), five points higher than workers who do not need to collaborate for their roles (67.8) and nearly two points higher than the national average (70.9).
- Nearly two in five (38 percent) of those surveyed reported that they would prefer to work alone most of the time; the mental health score of this group is more than four points below the national average.
- The mental health sub-score of isolation is the lowest among employees who prefer to work alone most of the time, nearly 12 points lower than employees who don’t prefer to work alone.
Employer mental health and wellbeing support
- The mental health score for workers who do not feel supported by their employer for their mental health and wellbeing needs is 10 points below the national average. Employees who feel less supported now versus early in the pandemic have an even lower mental health score (57.3) than those who never felt supported in the first place (60.6).
- Fifteen percent of workers surveyed indicated that their employer has improved the level of mental health support; this group has a mental health score of 71.5.
- Laborers are 40 percent more likely than service industry workers, and 30 percent more likely than office workers, to report their employer has improved the level of support.
