A survey conducted by Sun Life Financial shows that most Canadians believe employers are responsible for supporting the physical and mental health of their employees.

Only 11% of those surveyed said that the employers are not at all responsible for supporting the physical health of their employees, while 84% said they had either some or a significant responsibility to do so. The remaining respondents said they did not know. The burden of responsibility was even higher for mental wellbeing; 86% said that employers have some or a significant responsibility in this area, with only 8% absolving employers entirely. Once again, the remaining respondents said they did not know.

For matters related to both physical and mental health people from Generation Y, roughly defined as those born in the 1980s to 2000s, were most likely to say that there was a "significant" duty on the part of the employer.

The survey also reveals a relationship between health and employee productivity, with 35% of those polled indicating that their productivity at work has been negatively affected by their physical or mental health during the last six months.  "Gen Y respondents were most likely to report that experience: 47% said their health had negatively impacted their work productivity in the last six months, compared with 30% of Late Boomers and 26% of Early Boomers," reads the report.