A recent report published by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that five million young professionals in Canada in need of mental health supportadvises businesses and organizations to invest more in employee welfare.
“There is still a lot of stigma when it comes to discussing mental health. Genevieve Bonin, co-author of the report and managing director and partner at BCG, told CTVNews.ca, especially young people are feeling frustrated when presenting the issues they are dealing with. facing now. “Organizations are very concerned with the health and well-being of their employees, and I think this is currently a very open topic for many organizations. But organizations are very slow to realize the extent of the crisis, so they don’t necessarily have an overarching strategy.”
More than 1,300 young Canadian professionals were interviewed for the study by the end of 2022 to understand the impact of the workplace on their mental health.
Conclude? Work is the number one source of stress for Canadians.
MENTAL HEALTH AT WORK
The study found that 25% of all Canadians said they had symptoms of a mental health disorder by 2021, while 50% said they needed mental health support and 35% said they exhausted.
As for the future of the workforce and livelihoods of 18-24 year olds, 40% of the demographic is said to be at a “tipping point” in terms of their mental health.
For Brenda Zhou, co-founder at Feelin’ Good Collective, a wellness and mindfulness company dedicated to promoting employee well-being, the growing mental health challenges faced Young professionals are mainly due to a lack of emotional support from employers, especially in the remote or hybrid working model, she told CTVNews.ca in an email.
“This makes it even more difficult to establish a non-judgmental work environment—leaving young professionals with challenges in expressing their true selves, motivating communicate healthy and build relationships with their colleagues.” “This is becoming more apparent with young people entering the workforce for the first time after the pandemic.”
Furthermore, according to the study, people who have experienced mental health difficulties will experience some form of mental illness by the age of 40.
“On average, we spend a third of our lives in the workplace, and we find that companies/organizations that promote strong core values can build a workplace culture where young professionals ages can find meaning in their roles,” Zhou said. gap between the alignment of core values among young professionals and leadership from older generations.
She added that employees should be seen as unique individuals beyond their job title, and to bridge the gap, leadership training is needed on how to best support employees, as well as many more opportunities to encourage the growth of personal and professional well-being in the workplace.
THE IMPACT OF MENTAL HEALTH ON THE CANADA ECONOMY
The study authors write that happiness is highly correlated with productivity, meaning that well-cared for employees often produce a higher quality of work.
According to the study, from an economic perspective, it is important for Canadian businesses to invest in the mental health of their employees to support the health of the economy and continue to grow the business.
In fact, research shows that unchecked stress in the workplace is costing Canada more than $220 billion annually, contributing to the national mental health crisis.
Statistics Canada reported in 2022 that unemployment rate steady at historic low of 4.9 percent. As more positions open up, it becomes important to attract young talent to fill them.
Today, however, young employees are demanding more than a decent salary. The report cites that compared with Baby Boomers, twice as many Millennials and Gen Z workers want a work culture that is invested in their mental health and well-being. time.
When employees have low mental health, the data shows they miss an average of five work days a year and do “minimal” work for the other 37 days they’re working.
On the other hand, at companies with more welfare support, productivity increased by 13%. According to the report, if more companies promote this type of productivity, it will raise the gross domestic product (GDP) from today’s $108,000 per employee to $122,000 and raise the average profit per employee for businesses. Canadian industry from $21,000 to $24,000.
HOW IS THE FUTURE OF WORKING?
“It’s time to start caring. There is a bit of a stigma and possibly a lack of recognition of what has really happened to that population. They are not lazy, they have been affected very negatively. Especially with today’s demand for talent, especially for certain skills, this will pose a huge problem for organizations that don’t create an overall health and wellness strategy. mental wellbeing,” Bonin said.
While the pandemic has contributed significantly to the mental health challenges facing Canadians over the past few years, the crisis was intensifying even before COVID-19. Since 2016, the number of Canadians struggling with mental health has increased by more than 13%, according to the report.
“I just want to say that overall sustainability is very important, because the generations that we are hiring today, are the leaders of tomorrow.”
