January 4, 2024 0 comment

Mental Health and Employment Statistics | Update 2024

Mental health is an increasingly important issue worldwide. Particularly in the post-covid period and in relation to the new forms of employment. But “mental health” umbrella term encompasses a number of different topics that you will learn about today and get the most relevant statistics.

We also covered the statistics on employees burnout in the workplace and workplace bullying statistics research and facts which are also alarming.

In this mental health and employment statistics roundup, you’ll learn:

–Mental Health Employment Stats Editors’ Picks

–Mental Health General Statistics

–Mental Illnesses in the workplace

–Mental Health and Unemployment

–High-risk sectors for stress

–Employers’ Mental Health Responsibility

–Public Perception of Mental Health

–Mental health landscape after Covid

–Conclusion and final thoughts

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Mental Health Employment Statistics (Editors’ Picks)

Women are more impacted: In a study of over 70,000 women, 25% reported having a mental illness in 2019.
Mental illnesses are the second most treated: 15% of workers with employer health insurance are treated for a chronic mental illness. (First is hypertension with 30%).
Depression is the most concerning: people diagnosed with this mental illness account for 80% of suicide cases in the US.
Restaurants: the most stressful workplaces: from a survey of more than 1500 respondents, 54% of them said, restaurants are the most stressful workplaces.
Suicide rates are higher in the mining sector: per 100000 population, 54.2 cases of death suicides are in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries.
Young adults are the most affected by burnout: Young adults have more negative feelings and emotional burnout in their jobs, with high percentage differences compared to other age groups.

Mental Health General Statistics

It is estimated that at least 792 million people had some form of mental illness in 2017 (the most recent global survey). But according to the data that number has been increasing exponentially. And we must consider mental illnesses are very diverse, just to mention some it includes depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and dementia, among others.

Statistics by gender:

In the United States, the percentage of women with mental illness has been rising in the last decade as has the percentage of men.

In a study of over 70,000 women, 25% reported having a mental illness in 2019.
Among men, 15% reported having a mental illness in 2019.

As is evident from the data, women are more likely to suffer from these disorders than men. And while women have shown an increase of 4 percentage points since 2008, men show an increase of only two points.

In the specific case of major depression, women suffered more episodes of this disorder than men in 2019, with a difference of more than 4 percentage points, and the most affected age group was between 18 and 25 years old.

Depression:

The mental disorder that generates the most concern is depression as people diagnosed with this mental illness account for 80% of suicide cases in the US.

Also, a survey reveals that depression and anxiety are the fourth most common cause of medical consultations with a percentage of 25%, in people over the age of 40. This is a widespread concern in the population regarding their mental health.

Sources: Global Burden of Disease study, SAMHSA, Statista, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AARP.

Mental Illnesses in the workplace

Having seen the general picture of mental illness, let’s go deeper into the topic. Let’s talk about how mental illness is linked to employment.

In 2018, a survey revealed that 15% of workers with employer health insurance were being treated for a chronic mental illness.
This was second only to hypertension, which accounted for 30% of employees.

In terms of employment status, a survey found that full timers reported less mental illnesses in 2020 than partimers. While unemployed had the higher rates.

percentage of mental hilness per employment status

By employee type, one study found that, in 2020, essential employers had higher rates of suicidal ideation (24%) than non-essential (10%), with a wide difference of more than 10 percentage points.

Chronic stress and burnout are also signs of mental distress in the workplace.

Young adults have more negative feelings and emotional burnout in their jobs, with high percentage differences compared to other age groups. Overall they feel more dissatisfied with their jobs:

More tired and emotionally drained:

And significantly less satisfied with their individual development:

Worker suicide

The suicide rate among working male civilians in the U.S. by occupation showed that most cases were among mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.

For women, the most cases were among transportation and warehousing.

Lastly, alarming data shows that 2018 was a record year for workplace suicide. Since 1999 there has been a 33 percent increase in these rates.

But 2018 saw 304 workplace suicides, an 11 percent increase over 2017 and the highest number since data began to be tracked 26 years ago.

Sources: Kaiser Family Foundation, SAMHSA, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Statista, MMWR, Bureaur of Labor Statistics.

Mental Health and Unemployment

Mental health problems not only have repercussions on the employment of those who suffer from them but also affect entry into the labor market or accelerate exit from it.

Currently, 11.9% of unemployed people in the U.S. have a mental disorder.

In a survey of more than 2000 respondents, 24% lost their jobs due to mood disorders and 26% lost work days for the same reason.

The problem becomes a vicious circle, because the more time they spend unemployed, the more they need treatment for depression. People unemployed for more than 52 weeks have the higher percentage of depression treatment with 19%.

Unfortunately, public policies do not address the problem.

Currently, less than 20% of mental health facilities help with seeking employment despite a high correlation.

Sources: Statista, National Alliance of Mental Illness, Gallup, SAMHSA.

High-risk sectors for stress

Several studies have shown that some work sectors have a higher risk of stress and mental discomfort than other sectors. One survey found that in first place is the restaurant sector with 54% of respondents saying it is the most stressful job.

Sources: Harvard School of Public Health.

Employers’ Mental Health Responsibility

According to experts and mental health care institutions, employers have a responsibility for the mental health of their employees. How much and how well do companies help achieve this expectation? Let’s see:

A survey in 2020 showed that only 19% of the companies surveyed offered mental health care in-site.
This was offset by 31% virtual mental health couching and 29% group counseling.

The majority of companies preferred to have employees deal with the issue individually through personal time management:

Additionally, the data show that employee assistance programs have not significantly increased in coverage since 2013.

The share of employers offering employee assistance programs (EAP) in 2013 was 77% and in 2019, 79%.

However, one of the programs with the highest coverage of health insurance is mental health.

Approximately 83% of insurances cover these services. An achievement that could respond to workers’ need for these benefits.
Since 22% of job seekers consider mental health benefits as very important to applying or accepting a job offer.

Sources: Aflac, Society For Human Resource Management, Jobvite Report.

Public Perception of Mental Health and employment

A 2019 survey found that more than 70% of respondents reported a positive impact on their mental health from remote work.
And 76% of Americans surveyed agree that workplaces should take active steps to help their employees’ mental health.

Sources: Centre for Economics and Business Research, YouGov.

Mental health landscape after Covid

The pandemic and the economic consequences have had a huge impact on the health of people around the world. Bereavement, unemployment and general isolation have negatively affected people’s mental health in ways we are only beginning to understand.

After the outbreak of the coronavirus, 57% of workers reported increased levels of anxiety in their jobs and 66% reported an increase in work-related stress.

In a new update of an annual Gallup poll on mental health in the US, only 34 percent of American adults said they felt their mental health was in excellent condition when asked in November. That’s down from 43 percent in 2019.
Women were significantly less likely to describe their mental health as excellent in 2020, at just 27 percent compared to 41 percent of men.
Still, both men and women saw drops of 8 and 10 percentage points relative to 2019.

Sources: Qualtrics, Gallup.

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Conclusion and final thoughts

As discussed throughout the article, mental health is a key determinant of job performance and is of concern to both employees and employers. It is also a key factor in unemployment and can become a vicious circle when not properly addressed.

And while the data shows a willingness of employers to start practices to help workers with their mental health, there is still room for improvement in relation to training and counseling for entering or re-entering the labor market when suffering from mental illness.