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As America’s mental health epidemic rages on and workers are floundering without effective resources and support, the toll on employees has gone to worrying extremes.
One in five U.S. workers reports struggling with thoughts they would be “better off dead” or “hurting themselves” in the past two weeks, according to a new survey published by Wysa, a mental health app company, which surveyed 6,413 employees across the U.S., the U.K., and Canada in February. These feelings are higher among younger workers; 35% of 18 to 24-year-old employees say they have these thoughts, compared to 26% of 35 to 55-year-olds.
“We were anticipating a certain number, but not this larger number. It was alarming,” Smriti Joshi, chief psychologist at Wysa, tells Fortune. “We know that people need a psychologically safe space to be able to talk about these feelings. And it’s difficult for many workers to speak to a loved one or people around them. Sometimes they don’t know if that’s something they should talk about.”
Those high numbers are due in part to both self-harm and suicidal ideation being grouped together, but reflect larger population-wide patterns. Suicide rates for U.S. citizens ages 10 to 64 increased 36% between 2000 and 2021, according to data from the CDC. And around 5.2% of U.S. citizens aged 18 and older had serious thoughts about suicide in 2022, according to data from the National Institute of Mental Health. That number rose to 13.6% for adults between the ages of 18 and 25.
Beyond grappling with their own mental health struggles, employees are also worried about their coworkers. Around 22% of U.S. workers say that over the past year, they’ve been concerned that a colleague may “harm themselves” or “take their own life,” according to the Wysa report. And tragically, 12% of American staffers experienced a work peer attempt or follow through with suicide in the last year.
But very few people know how to deal with mental health concerns in the workplace; less than a third of survey participants have received training on how to talk about suicide.
“We spent about 60% to 70% of our daily hours at work, and I could be experiencing these kinds of thoughts or could be going down a spiral,” says Joshi. “[If] people around me don’t know how to support me, those feelings create a sense of lack of safety.”
More than half of U.S. employees don’t think their company has been proactive in addressing and supporting employee mental health, and 38% say their employer sees mental health as an out-of-work or personal issue. Around 12% of American employees believe if they bring up their health struggles, their managers will become more critical of their work, question their abilities, and downplay their issues.
But workplaces can do better. Joshi says that companies should heed the demands of employees, and be proactive in creating better support options. Four in 10 American workers want PTO options to focus on their mental health, while one in four want a workload reduction if they disclose their emotional struggles to a manager, according to the study. Joshi adds that employers should also think beyond typical well-being offerings, implement mandatory mental health training for people leaders, and initiate frequent conversions and check-ins with staffers.
“Employers say, ‘We have the services available, health insurance, apps are there.’ But when there is a need to take a leave or [employees] could be experiencing a personal problem that could be impacting productivity, there is not enough support,” she says. “Encourage leadership to come and speak about how when they were younger, they experienced certain concerns, that it’s okay to not feel okay. Create that safe space where one could be vulnerable and be able to talk about how they’re doing on a day-to-day basis.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, dial 988, or chat with a professional online. In case of an emergency, call 911 or visit your local emergency room.
Emma Burleigh
emma.burleigh@fortune.com
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