canadians value health and well-being benefits over the work itself when choosing an employer: report
personal needs are most important to canadians when choosing where to work, according to the latest mental health index released by lifeworks.
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two-thirds of adults in canada have access to extended health benefits through their employer, according to the mental health commission of canada. getty
canadians are prioritizing health and well-being when it comes to choosing an employer, according to the latest mental health index by lifeworks.
the index is a monthly report released by lifeworks, part of telus health. data is based on a representative online survey of 3,000 people living in canada, who are working or have worked in canada in the past six months.
according to the survey, 34 per cent of respondents said the most important factor when choosing an employer is health and well-being benefits. in second place was flexibility, at 28 per cent. the work itself came in third place, at 18 per cent.
“we know that [health and well-being benefits] have a meaningful impact on employees’ lives, and within this data we see that they make a significant impact on where one wants to work,” telus health chief operating officer, michael dingle, said in a statement. “canadians are considering their personal needs beyond direct compensation, when exploring new employment opportunities.”
this finding doesn’t come as much of a surprise as, in the september 2022 report, poor mental health and well-being were identified as having the most significant negative impact in terms of the effort that respondents gave to their work.
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wellness programs can boost health and well-being
workplace wellness programs can have a measurable impact on employee’s health and well-being, a joint study by the alberta blue cross and the institute of health economics found. programs like online health risk assessments, mental health support resources, as well as health coaching and guides reportedly had a measurable impact on the cardiac, respiratory, mental and physical health of users. in fact, over a period of 30 months, 81.5 per cent of the 360,000 program participants experienced at least some improvement in these health indicators.
two-thirds of adults in canada have access to extended health benefits through their employer, according to the mental health commission of canada. these benefits include “varying degrees of mental health care coverage,” however, according to a 2022 survey conducted by the organization, 80 per cent of respondents felt the coverage for psychological services was inadequate.
employee’s view of management impacts productivity
how an employee viewed their manager’s approach to the workforce also had an impact on their productivity and performance, according to the lifeworks report. respondents who rated their manager as “strongly humane” (defined as exhibiting support, consideration and compassion to their teams) were more likely to also say they aim to exceed expectations. those who rated their manager as “weakly humane” reported productivity losses twice that of workers who had a more favourable view of their managers.
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other factors that correlated positively with employee’s mental health and work ethos included managers who were seen as autonomous, charismatic, participative and team-oriented.
also unchanged from the september 2022 mental health index, which found that 20 per cent of working canadians were losing faith in their employers, was the importance of relationships with managers and company owners. respondents who said they had lost trust in their employers also tended to report worse mental health than their counterparts.
canadians’ mental health still strained
when it came to measuring overall mental health for canadians, there was a slight dip from 65.1 in september to 64.9 in october — an index rating that remains firmly in the “strained” category, whereas “optimal” mental health is anywhere from 80 to 100 points, and “distressed” is from zero to 49 points. the lowest rating reported was in december 2020, at 62.9 points.
all mental health sub-scores, except for financial risk, declined slightly in october from september. the mental health score of women (62.9 in october) continues to be significantly lower than the men’s’ (66.9 in october), as it has been for the entirety of this report.
all mental health sub-scores, except for financial risk, declined slightly in october from september.
data from lifeworks mental health index, october 2022
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provincially, newfoundland has had the most significant decrease in mental health rating over the past year. in 2021, newfoundland had the highest mental health score of all canadian provinces, but this has been rocky in 2022, seeing a 3.2 point decrease in october from the previous month. manitoba now has the highest rating in the country, followed by quebec. the maritimes continued to have the lowest score for the second consecutive month.
emma jones is a multimedia editor with healthing. you can reach her at emjones@postmedia.com or on instagram and twitter @jonesyjourn.
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