US workers’ mental health strained, employer relations cited as significant factor

Seventeen percent of Americans reported a decline in trust between employer and employee, with those respondents posting a mental health score well below the national average, according to a recent survey.

LifeWorks released its monthly Mental Health Index for September, which found only 12% of employee respondents perceived an improved trust with their employer. Those who reported a decline in trust posted a mental health score more than seven points below the national average of 62.8.

The online survey was taken by 5,000 respondents in the U.S. who had been employed for the last 6 months.

The Mental Health Index score for September was 70.2 out of 100, up slightly from August’s score of 69.4, but still below the September 2021 score of 71.0, according to a LifeWorks press release.

The index additionally found that the mental health of U.S. workers remained significantly strained, and workplace culture had the largest impact.

Among those who reported lower trust between worker and employer, 38% of workers blamed changes in workplace culture. One in four surveyed faulted a change in how employers handled employee well-being, while 22% cited perceived changes in employee commitment led to decreased trust.

Conversely, the 12% of those polled who stated trust has improved gave credit to positive changes in communication, culture and the employer’s support for employee health and well-being.

“The data is clear. Workers who report trust in their employer have higher mental health scores and higher productivity,” Paula Allen, LifeWorks senior vice president of research and total well-being, stated in the release. “Demonstrating support for employee well-being could not be more important than it is now, given the tenuous nature of relationships at the moment.”

Also revealed in the poll, American workers who said there had been no change in trust with their employer recorded the most favorable mental health score (72.1). The mental health of those with an optimistic view of how the return to work/reopening after the pandemic has been handled was 75.1, nearly five points higher than the national average.

Managers were twice as likely as non-managers to report improved trust between employees and their employers.