The mental health and wellbeing of your workforce is critical when it comes to overall health – and productivity at work. 

The Mental Health Index (MHI) surveys 16,000 workers from around the world. Published monthly, the index provides a measure of the current mental health status of employed adults. The increases and decreases in the MHI are intended to predict cost and productivity risks, and help governments and businesses understand how much they should be investing in supporting the mental health of their people. 

Highlights: What do you need to know for March 2023? 

1. Following a sharp drop in February, the mental health of workers in Canada rebounded in March. 

• At 64.3, the mental health of workers improved 1.4 points from February 2023 

• 33 per cent of workers have a high mental health risk, 44 per cent have a moderate mental health risk, and 23 per cent have a low mental health risk 

• 8 per cent of workers in Canada indicate that their mental health is in crisis 

• All mental health sub-scores improved from February to March 2023; the work productivity sub-score improved two points from the prior month • Anxiety, isolation, and work productivity have been the lowest mental sub-scores for 11 consecutive months • Mental health scores improved in all provinces; despite a two-point increase, the mental health score in the Maritimes remains lowest 

• The mental health score of managers is higher than that of non-managers and the national average 

2. Employees under 40 are more than twice as likely as employees over 50 to rate their mental health and self-esteem as low. 

• 57 per cent do not know, or are unsure, whether there is someone that perceives their mental health the same way they do 

• Workers without emergency savings are eight times more likely than workers with emergency savings to rate their mental health as very low or in crisis 

• Individuals rating their mental health low and who are perceived to have similar mental health by their co-workers, friends/family, and managers have work productivity scores more than 37 points lower than the national average

Click here to download the March report.

Click here to view the press release.

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