Many young Canadian professionals are at a mental health ‘breaking point,’ new study finds
CTV
A recent report published by the Boston Consulting Group has found that five million young professionals in Canada are in need of mental health support.
A recent report published by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has found that five million young professionals in Canada are in need of mental health support, advising businesses and organizations to invest more into employee wellbeing.
“There's still a lot of stigma in discussing mental health. Young people especially, are feeling discouraged from presenting the issues that they're facing right now,” Genevieve Bonin, co-author of the report and managing director and partner at BCG told CTVNews.ca. “Organizations do care greatly about the health and well being of their employees, and I think this is now a very open topic for many organizations. But organizations are very slow to recognize the extent of the crisis, so they don't necessarily have an overarching strategy.”
More than 1,300 young Canadian professionals were interviewed for the study in late 2022 to learn the effects of their workplaces on their mental wellbeing.
The conclusion? Work is the number one source of stress for Canadians.
The study found 25 per cent of all Canadians reported having symptoms of a mental health disorder in 2021, while 50 per cent said they need mental health support, and 35 per cent report being burnt out.
As for the future of the workforce and the livelihood of 18 to 24 year olds, 40 per cent of the demographic is reportedly at a “breaking point” for their mental health.
For Brenda Zhou, co-founder at Feelin’ Good Collective, a corporate mindfulness and wellness company dedicated to promoting employee well-being, the rise in mental health challenges for young professionals is due primarily to a lack of emotional support from employers, particularly in the remote or hybrid working model, she told CTVNews.ca in an email.
