Canada (French)

TELUS Health Research Brief

The Research Briefs are short papers highlighting specific mental health related-topics relevant to the workplace. Using research-based insights, they explain the root causes of the topic/issue and suggest concrete actions organizations can take to improve workplace support.

Why organizations must support the mental health of working parents.

The Mental Health Index by TELUS Health found that, since April 2020, working parents have consistently lower mental health scores than non-parents, including lower scores in anxiety, depression, isolation, and financial risk. The impact of mental health on work productivity is also greater for parents compared to non-parents.

Parents are 25% more likely to report suffering from symptoms of burnout than non-parents
Nearly two-thirds of parents go to work when unwell (physically or psychologically) at least one day per week
30% of working parents would choose better support for their wellbeing over a 10% salary increase

Understanding the specific issues and needs of parents is necessary to adequately support this large subset of working Canadians.