More than a third (36 per cent) of Canadian workers have been bothered by thoughts of death or self-harm over the past year, according to a new survey by Wysa Ltd.
The survey, which polled more than 2,000 employees, found young people were especially at risk, with 56 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 24 experiencing thoughts of hurting themselves over the past year.
A third (36 per cent) said they experienced emotional distance from others, while 31 per cent felt a sense of isolation or withdrawal, 29 per cent said they were dealing with a sense of distraction or lack of humour and 28 per cent were struggling with dwelling on the past.
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Only 43 per cent of respondents agreed their employer takes proactive steps to address mental health and 36 per cent felt their employer sees mental health as a personal or out-of-work matter. More than half (53 per cent) were hoping for offers of professional mental-health support from their employers and a quarter were interested in being offered access to digital mental-health self-help tools.
Notably, there was an increased occurrence of thoughts of self-harm among Canadians working in the real estate industry. Risks were also elevated for individuals working in the arts, entertainment and recreation (53 per cent), hospitality (48 per cent), social care (43 per cent) and retail (42 per cent).
“These statistics serve as a wake-up call for employers to recognize and address the mental-health crisis within the workplace,” said Ramakant Vempati, president and co-founder at Wysa, in a press release. “Even one person contemplating suicide or self-harm is too high. Equipping the workplace with the tools and training to identify crises and provide critical interventions can prevent tragedies from occurring.”
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