Global-Watch recently unveiled eight international trends for 2024 in mental health and workplace wellness observed by its international monitoring service. Academic experts and corporate human resources leaders contribute to this service.
Marie-Claude Pelletier, founder and president of Global-Watch, discussed these trends with Insurance Portal. Étienne Fouquet, Content and Knowledge Transfer Lead at Global-Watch, also participated in the interview.
Psychosocial risks at work continue to be prevalent among the trends identified by Global-Watch for 2024, according to Pelletier and Fouquet. Here is an overview of some of these trends:
Three new ways to leave your employer
American influence is percolating in the workplace, as evidenced by the neologisms abundant in the 2024 trends. Regarding workers leaving their employers: rage quitters, silent quitters, and climate quitters exist side by side. The first group resigns abruptly and emotionally; the second discreetly reduces their professional engagement and productivity; the third resigns because they find their employer's environmental actions insufficient.
These trends remind Étienne Fouquet of the phenomenon of the great resignation, first named in the United States at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. "These are phenomena that are sociologically theorized, although there is not strong data to support the behavior," he notes.
Eco-emotions
Marie-Claude Pelletier has noticed how the phenomenon of climate quitters has evolved over the past year. "We talked about it last year in our trends, but we didn't see much happening in companies. We have now observed it much more," she says.
Celebrated since 1970 on April 22, Earth Day in 2024 was an opportunity for Global-Watch to launch a tool to help employers cope with eco-anxiety, "as there are increasingly eco-emotions in the workplace," emphasizes Pelletier. "People are struggling to deal with the negative emotions related to climate change, and this affects their mental health," she laments.
Quest for Meaning
The discussion about the loss of meaning at work often came up during the interview. The loss of meaning presumes there was meaning to begin with, points out Fouquet. People are no longer able to find it. He recalls that since the industrial revolution, work has never been a fundamental source of meaning. "What's new is the difficulty in identifying with work, for many reasons, as we have just identified," he explains.
Hybridization of work
The hybridization of work also makes a significant difference in the trends reported by Global-Watch in 2024, according to Pelletier. During the pandemic, people were able to optimize work-life balance, get closer to their families. Many moved to the countryside from where they could continue working. "Return to work five days a week? No! Some employers want to go back to the way it was because it was simpler to manage. That's no longer possible," she contends.
Women's health
Another significant trend in 2024, women's health also concerns the group insurance industry, particularly regarding menopause symptoms. According to a report by the Menopause Foundation of Canada sponsored by Sun Life, 70 per cent of women aged 40 to 60 would not feel comfortable discussing their menopause symptoms with their employer's human resources. The report released in 2023 revealed that unmanaged menopause symptoms cost the Canadian economy about 3.5 billion dollars annually. Active women bear the brunt of these costs, added the report's authors.
In the field, Global-Watch has identified a need for support in women's health. "Menopause affects women at the peak of their careers," comments Fouquet. "They have gone through their formative years. Many are moving into senior positions and are beginning to experience these symptoms. And then there are all the others who will experience them without any safety net." He believes that employers should not intrude so deeply into a woman's life as to know what symptoms she is experiencing, but should rather know how to create protective safety nets.
These safety nets could ensure that a woman does not miss out on a promotion due to her symptoms. "Some countries have introduced a bank of additional leave for women experiencing physiological issues," notes Fouquet.
With respect to women’s health, he also mentions the amendment to the Canadian Labour Code that took place on December 15, 2023. Since then, federally regulated employers are required to provide menstrual products free of charge to their staff at the workplace. Fouquet sees this as a basic step. "What we are discussing at Global-Watch is the importance of the impact of these issues on mental health."
Regarding menopause symptoms, sometimes women don't even understand what is happening, adds Marie-Claude Pelletier. "There needs to be education. Workplace initiatives must focus on raising awareness about the symptoms. They can last for 10 years. Perimenopause can last for years. It's not just about raising awareness among women, but everyone in the company, explaining what the employee and employer can do." According to her, support for women's health should include social benefits like flexible schedules with floating days that allow for absences, whether for menopause or menstrual symptoms.
