Nearly a third of workers fear being fired over job-related mental health issue: poll
Posted June 21, 2023 10:56 am.
Over one-third or 35 per cent of workers fear they could be fired for reporting a job-related mental health injury, a new survey has found.
The poll from Maru Public Opinion found 45 per cent of workers believe there is a regular risk of an on-the-job mental health injury. That percentage went up to 57 per cent among the youngest employees aged 18-34.
It was also more likely that lower-income employees felt this way when compared to higher-income employees.
Legally, employers in Canada can’t discriminate against mental health by law, but half of the youngest employees aged 18-34 surveyed still feared they could be fired for reporting mental health issues related to a job.
“What’s astonishing is not just that one-third of workers believe they’re at risk of 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.”
However, the majority of those surveyed did say their employer was vigilant in minimizing their risk of an on-the-job mental health injury while 32 per cent said they were not.
The same percentage, three in 10, are worried mental health injury could occur in the next year.
When it comes to physical injuries, the percentages are similar. Just over 40 per cent of employees say there is a regular risk of a on-the-job injury and 31 per cent say it could happen in the next year.
While 68 per cent of workers polled said they believe their employer is not negligent in making their job physically safe for them.
This survey was conducted between April. 14 to 17, 2023, among a random selection of 860 working Canadian adults who are Maru voice Canada panelists. The probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
