Yahoo Finance One-third of workers fear firing over a job-related mental health issue
Nearly half of Canadian workers responding to a new survey say there’s a regular risk of mental health injury at their job, with one-third afraid to report an incident to their employer for fear of being fired.
The latest Yahoo/Maru Public Opinion survey questioned 860 randomly selected working Canadian adults. The results show 45 per cent believe there's a regular risk of suffering an on-the-job mental health injury. About one-third (36 per cent) worry this could happen in the next year.
Despite the fact that employers in Canada cannot discriminate against mental health by law, 35 per cent of respondents said they would be scared to report any job-related mental health injury because they may be fired.
Those reporting a regular risk of work-related mental health injuries were mainly younger workers, aged 18 to 34, and split evenly between men and women. More esidents in Atlantic Canada were concerned about the risk (54 per cent), while it is least common in Quebec (36 per cent).
Fear of being fired for reporting a job-related mental health injury was also most prevalent among the youngest workers, and most common in Ontario, Atlantic Canada, and British Columbia.
“What’s astonishing is not just that one-third of workers believe they’re at risk of acquiring a mental health injury, but that just as many fear of being fired if they reveal such a condition,"Maru executive vice-president John Wright said.
"It’s even more concerning that half of the youngest employees would keep it bottled up inside, with the belief that saying something about it may get them terminated.”
According to the survey, lower-income employees were more likely to report regular mental health risks at work, and fear the consequences of raising this with their bosses.
Meanwhile, regular risk of physical injury was reported by 43 per cent of respondents, who tended to hail from Atlantic Canada, and earn less. Three in 10 (31 per cent) of those surveyed said they worry about having an on-the-job physical injury in the next year. Similarly, 32 per cent believe their employer is negligent in making their job and workplace safe.
"There are still many workplaces where employees believe they are at risk for their mental and physical health because of employer negligence,” Wright said. "Vigilance means not just making sure the workplace is safe for employees, but also ensuring that an optimal personnel safety, that and reporting culture exists.”
The survey of 860 randomly selected working Canadian adults was conducted between April 14 and April 17, and has an estimated margin of error of +/- 3.4%, 19 times out of 20.
Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.
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