Workplaces offering fewer mental health services in 2022, APA poll shows

NEW ORLEANS — Sixty percent of working adults reported knowing how to access mental health services through their employer in 2022, down from 71% in 2021, the 2022 Healthy Minds poll from the APA showed.

Compared with the 56% who said they could openly talk about their mental health with their supervisor in 2021, this year only 48% said that was the case, researchers reported at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.

“What’s troubling about the results of this poll is that even as the pandemic has continued and its mental health effects wear on, fewer employees are reporting that they have access to mental health services,” APA President Vivian Pender, MD, said in a released statement.

The poll was conducted by Morning Consult April 23 and April 24 among 2,210 working adults. The interviews were conducted online, and data was weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, age, race, education and region.

Results revealed that 52% of people said they feel comfortable using mental health services with their current employer, compared with 64% in 2021. This year, 53% of workers said they felt their mental health resources and benefits were sufficient, compared with 65% in 2021.

However, the poll also showed that fewer adults are worried about retaliation if they take time off work for mental health issues — 36% in 2022, compared with 48% in 2021.

Among working adults, 26% reported having an employee assistance program, a decrease from 28% in 2021. Likewise, 23% reported having primary care coverage with sufficient mental health coverage, which decreased from 28% in 2021. And just 19% reported being offered telehealth mental health services, a decrease from 22% in 2021.

“Workplaces need to ensure that they are paying attention to what their employees need, particularly now, and moving away from mental health benefits isn’t the right move,” Pender said.