More than 50 per cent of people leaders say they feel unprepared to address mental health issues in the workplace, according to new data from TELUS Health on the mental health of workers in Canada. The TELUS Mental Health Index edged up one point in June 2025 to 64.0.
Based on an early June 2025 survey of 3,000 Canadians, they say one third of workers feel anxious, three in 10 feel isolated and 29 per cent do not have emergency savings to cover basic needs. More than one quarter, 26 per cent, say they feel depressed and say their mental health is adversely impacting work productivity.
Stigma persists
“Despite heightened mental health awareness, stigma persists: self-stigma has declined by only three per cent while fear of workplace stigma has increased by one per cent since February 2021,” they write in the June TELUS Mental Health Index, Canada report.
The report notes that 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. Finances were the leading source of personal stress reported. The report also looks at poor sleep, focus at work, mood changes and productivity.
In June 2025, 27 per cent of workers said their mental health was negatively impacting their work productivity and goals.
Inconsistent communication
They say more than three in five workers report unclear or inconsistent communication about workplace health and wellbeing programs.
“Eight in 10 workers say their organization’s communication about health and wellbeing programs is unclear or inconsistent,” they write. “The highest mental health score (75.1) is among 20 per cent of workers who say their organisation communicates very clearly about health and wellbeing programs, more than 11 points higher than the national average (64).”
In the finance and insurance sectors, the June 2025 mental health index reading was 64.3, up 0.9 per cent from 63.4 in March 2025.
