A notable number of the 3,000 survey respondents studied for the monthly TELUS Health mental health index for December 2024 have high and moderate risk of having poor mental health scores. The mental health of managers continues to be higher than non-managers and 75 per cent believe it is important for employers to provide generous and comprehensive mental health benefits. At the same time just 45 per cent of workers said they were satisfied with their employer’s coverage for mental health services (12 per cent were dissatisfied).
Overall, 36 per cent were identified as having a high mental health risk, 41 per cent had a moderate mental health risk and 23 per cent were identified as having a low mental health risk. “Nearly five years after the launch of the mental health index in April 2020, the proportion of workers with a high mental health risk has increased by two per cent,” the report’s researchers state.
Financial services and insurance industries
In the financial services and insurance industries, the mental health index was 63.7 in December 2024, up from 62.9 reported in November 2024.
The report looks at medication adherence: 66 per cent indicated that they always followed their prescribed medication dosage and schedule. Of the 33 per cent who said they didn’t, 12 per cent cited affordability as the reason.
The report also found that the lowest mental health scores were reported by workers currently taking Ozempic, Wegovy or another semaglutide medication for weight loss. These workers scored 12 points lower than others not taking the drugs and 10 points lower than the national average. “Parents are more than two and a half times more likely than non-parents to be currently taking or considering taking Ozempic, Wegovy or another semaglutide medication for weight loss,” they state. More than half, 52 per cent, did not know if the medications were covered by their benefits plans or not.
