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According to a new guide on workplace mental health from Spring Health, depression and anxiety disorders result in an estimated 12 billion workdays lost each year, costing employers $1 trillion. The report also found that half of the population is projected to develop one or more mental health disorders by age 75, but only an estimated 30% of those receive treatment due to issues such as a shortage of mental health providers, lack of transportation and financial barriers.
Spring Health conducted an in-depth study of eight industry sectors and found specific work-related factors that contribute to mental health issues in each sector. For example, healthcare workers say they feel anxious about heavy workloads, making life-or-death decisions, working long and irregular shifts, and experiencing traumatic events. These stressors put healthcare workers at increased risk for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. More than 90% of healthcare workers are at risk for one or more mental health disorders.
In the financial services and insurance sector, employees report depression and anxiety, linked to internal and external uncertainty resulting in rapid and industry-wide change. Additionally, heavy workloads, long working hours and a highly competitive environment affect financial services and insurance employees. Abuse at work is also cited as a cause of stress and anxiety.
In a fast-paced, high-pressure work environment, mental health issues are often overlooked, which can lead to burnout among tech workers. Employees in the sector say they feel isolated due to remote work and find it hard to relax outside of work. More than 77% of tech workers report that poor mental health is interfering with their work, social and home life. However, improving mental health is a big focus for tech workers, with almost three-quarters saying they are worried about the state of their mental health post-COVID-19.
In jobs like manufacturing, construction, distribution and agriculture, physically demanding work often leads to mental health issues. Manufacturing employees lose an average of 2.16 days of productivity per week. In retail, workers report dealing with increasingly confrontational and verbally aggressive customers.
Higher education workers say helping students deal with mental health issues has had a negative impact on their own mental health, while food and beverage workers say long hours, low pay and dealing with harassment from customers all contribute to their own poor mental health.
The report said the prevalence of alcohol use in the legal profession is so high that it leaves many in the field feeling self-conscious and frustrated.
Key actions employers can take to support employees struggling with their mental health include destigmatizing mental health, workplace mental health programs, and education and awareness campaigns.
