The TELUS Health Mental Health Index report for January 2025 says two in five workers are under constant stress, while at least one in three are feeling anxious and isolated. Many do not have emergency savings and overall, the load is negatively affecting work productivity.
“Anxiety and isolation remain the lowest mental health sub-scores for nearly three years,” say the report’s researchers. At 63.2, the mental health index is relatively flat when compared to December’s reading of 63.5. Broken down, 36 per cent of workers have a high mental health risk, 41 per cent have a moderate mental health risk and 23 per cent have a low mental health risk.
The report also looks at scores by province, at the differences between managers and non-managers and at scores by gender, age, employment status and by industry. (The finance and insurance industry reading rose 0.1 per cent from 63.7 in December 2024 to 63.8 in January.) “Nearly five years after the launch of the Mental Health Index in April 2020, the proportion of workers in the high-risk group has increased by two per cent,” they write.
They say 40 per cent of workers feel under constant stress. “The mental health score of this group is more than 31 points lower than workers not feeling constant stress and 16 points lower than the national average,” they add.
Health benefits need promotion
Respondents themselves and their responses to certain questions indicate that employer health benefits and awareness about those benefits both need work: 35 per cent said their organization excels in health benefits while 42 per cent said their organizations’ benefits need to improve. Of those surveyed, 27 per cent said they avoided or delayed seeking dental care in 2024, 18 per cent did the same for vision care, 15 per cent avoided seeking medical care and 14 per cent delayed or avoided seeking mental health support.
They add that “54 per cent of workers cite cost as the reason for delaying or avoiding seeking mental health support in 2024.” Of those surveyed, 22 per cent said they didn’t know where to get help or how to access support.
Planning opportunity: Emergency savings
They say workers without emergency savings continue to experience lower mental health scores, as well. Those without savings reported an overall mental health index score of 48.7, compared to workers with emergency savings who reported an average mental health score of 68.9 in January 2025.
