LifeWorks has released its monthly Mental Health Index™, revealing a negative mental-health score among Canadians for the 16th consecutive month.

Key findings:

• Overall mental-health score of -10.1 compared to the pre-pandemic benchmark, reaching its highest point since the launch of the index in April 2020.
• Managers were 20 per cent more likely than non-managers to request mandatory vaccinations upon the return-to-workplace.
• Thirteen per cent of respondents feel that the culture of their organization does not support their personal wellbeing. This group has a mental-health score of -22.3.
• Twenty-four per cent of respondents are unsure of their company’s culture of support. This group has a mental-health score of -16.8.
• Sixty-three per cent of respondents feel that the culture of their organization supports their personal wellbeing. This group has a mental-health score of -6.6.

Women are impacted at a disproportionate rate:

• Women were 40 per cent more likely than men to report that their organization’s culture does not support their personal wellbeing.
• Thirty-five per cent of women indicated that they would prefer to work from home full-time to prioritize personal wellbeing, compared to 30 per cent of men.
• Nine per cent of respondents want work from home to avoid tension or conflict with managers or co-workers or to avoid in-person interaction with customers.
• Women were nearly twice as likely as men to want to work from home to avoid tension or conflict with co-workers.

Mixed views on vaccination policies, slightly favouring employer-mandated vaccine policies:

• Forty-seven per cent of respondents want mandated vaccination policies implemented by their employer. This group’s mental-health score is -9.1.
• Thirty-three per cent of respondents do not want employer-mandated vaccination policies. This group’s mental-health score is -9.7.
• Twenty per cent of respondents are uncertain about employer-mandated vaccination policies. This group’s mental-health score is -12.5.