By Will Novosedlik

Telus Health Lifeworks has released the results of its monthly mental health tracker for October. With so much disruption in the workplace based on happenings over the last several years, strategy has been following these reports with greater frequency to uncover what’s driving change, where the industry’s blind spots are, and how both management and employees are coping.

Overall, there was a 0.2% drop in the Mental Health Index from September. For October, 32% of Canadians were judged to have a high mental health risk, 45% a moderate risk, and 24% a low risk.

All mental health sub-scores, except those regarding financial risk, have declined since September. Respondents scored worse on anxiety (-0.6% change), which remains the lowest of all mental health sub-scores for the last six months running. The remainder aren’t much better, with isolation at -0.1% change, productivity at -0.9%, depression at -0.6%, optimism at -0.4% and psychological health at -0.4%. While these are all small shifts, they show that we’re in a holding pattern, suggesting uncertainty still looms.

These newest findings speak to the concept of “quiet quitting,” or the idea of doing the bare minimum at work. While this notion has gained traction on social media, the study’s results suggest the opposite is happening: three quarters (75%) reported they often try to exceed expectations at work. Interestingly, this same group has the most favourable mental health score (66.4).

According to Paula Allen, Lifeworks global leader and SVP research, “The point is, achievement is a good thing. It’s like exercise: a little muscle strain makes you stronger, psychologically as well as physically. Same goes for putting in a little extra effort to achieve a goal or career objective. Most people derive satisfaction from that,” she says.

Work productivity saw the largest improvement between April 2020 (58.5%) and October 2022 (62.1%), although this number also follows the most dramatic swings of all, tracking the constant mutations of Covid-19.

The winds may also be shifting when it comes to what’s most important to employees – it may not be hybrid or remote work anymore. In fact, when faced with selecting an employer, 34% would prioritize benefits and services offered for health and wellness over flexibility.

Another of the more interesting stats shows the ever-changing gaps in mental health scores between managers and non-managers. For the beginning of 2021, non-managers enjoyed a Mental Health Index of 65.3 versus 62.5 for managers. By November, managers had reached 65.1 while non-managers dropped to 64.7. In February 2021, the pattern reversed; then in June, it reversed again. By October, they were converging again. The seesaw pattern is partly a reflection of the stress associated with having to adjust to the constant pivots.

There are differences across demographic groups. For instance, since April 2020, women have had significantly lower mental health scores. According to Allen, “Because of their caregiving responsibilities, women are more likely to be engaged in part-time work. Combining work and caregiving results in greater fatigue. There is also a general lack of understanding and support for women’s physical issues. For all these reasons, lower economic power is more likely, and mental health suffers as a result.”

Since April 2020, mental health scores have improved with age. “It makes sense,” explains Allen. “Younger cohorts are more precarious as they struggle to gain an economic foothold, so they have been the most impacted by the events of the last three years. They have missed out on the coaching and guidance they would otherwise have enjoyed before the pandemic, as well as the social contact so critical to both mental health and career advancement. The older cohorts are more established and secure, and so are less stressed in general.”