Mental Health Index: October 2021

LifeWorks' Mental Health Index shines a spotlight on the current mental health status of employed adults amidst the Covid-19 pandemic across the UK, Canada, the United States, and Australia.

The Mental Health Index is published each month.

Key findings:

Overall mental-health score of -10.6 compared to the pre-pandemic benchmark, a slight decline from the previous month.
Nearly one-quarter (24%) of UK employees reported that work has hindered their mental wellbeing during the pandemic, an increase from 22% before the pandemic. This group has a mental-health score more than 11 points below the national average.
20% of respondents reported that they feel in crisis or have concerns about their ability to cope. These groups have mental-health scores more than 23 points below the national average.

Younger Britons, parents and managers are experiencing feelings of crisis and inability to cope with mental health concerns at a disproportionate rate:

35% of individuals under 40 indicate that they feel in crisis or have concerns about their mental health and their ability to cope, while only 12% of individuals 50 and older report the same.
Parents are twice as likely as non-parents to indicate that they feel in crisis or have concerns about their mental health and their ability to cope.
Managers are more than 60% more likely than non-managers to report the same concerns.