-- Morneau Shepell's Mental Health Index(TM) rises slightly in September

Morneau Shepell, a leading provider of total wellbeing, mental health and 
digital mental health services, today released its monthly Mental Health 
Index(TM) report, making September the sixth consecutive month of negative 
mental health scores. The Mental Health Index(TM) for September is -13.2, which 
measures a decline in mental health from the pre-2020 benchmark of 75, and a 
slight improvement from -14.3 in August. Compared to the previous month, the 
only decline of any sub-score is in work productivity with a decline of 0.7 
points, while depression, anxiety, optimism, isolation, psychological health 
and financial risk all improved slightly.

The decline in Australian employees' productivity aligns with other data in the 
latest Index that shows respondents struggling with motivation issues. More 
than one third of employees (38 per cent) indicate that they find it more 
difficult to concentrate on work than before the pandemic, 41 per cent feel 
more mentally and/or physically exhausted at the end of the work day, and 41 
per cent say they find it more difficult to feel motivated to do work than 
before the outbreak six months ago. 

Throughout Australia, all regions experienced improvements or stability in 
mental health scores this month compared to July and August. The latest report 
continues to show that parents, younger individuals, those with lower household 
incomes and those who identify as female or other have lower mental health 
scores.

The Mental Health Index(TM) also tracks sub-scores against the benchmark, 
measuring depression (-15.8), anxiety (-15.1), work productivity (-15.0), 
optimism (-14.6), isolation (-12.3), general psychological health (-5.1) and 
financial risk (1.5). All sub-score areas experienced small improvements,  with 
the exception of work productivity, which declined slightly from -14.3 last 
month. 

"While the Mental Health Index(TM) for Australians increased slightly in 
September, the fact remains that September marks the sixth consecutive month of 
strained mental health among Australian employees, due in large part to the 
pandemic," said Jamie MacLennan, managing director, Australia and APAC. "Work 
productivity can be hampered by poor mental health and we're starting to see 
that take place among Australian employees. Employers should be aware of the 
connection between mental health and work productivity and look for ways to 
support employee mental health over the long term." 

Delaying self care could have long-term effects
While the need to manage general physical health to minimize the virus' impact 
continues to be a priority, nearly one third (29 per cent) of respondents 
indicate that the pandemic has made them less likely to participate in health 
care for physical needs (e.g., annual physicals, regular dental exams, routine 
blood checks) compared to six months ago. Also, even with the rising mental 
health needs, more than one quarter (26 per cent) say that they are less 
willing to partake in mental health care than before the pandemic.

Financial risk also ranked as a top concern of Australian employees, and they 
have been increasing their emergency savings since the start of the pandemic. A 
consistent and substantial difference in mental health exists between those 
with emergency savings (-9.0) when compared to those without (-24.2), with the 
latter faring significantly worse.   

Considerations for employers  
One of the constant themes throughout the Mental Health Index(TM) reports 
continues to be the strong role that employers play in supporting their 
employees' mental health, particularly during times of uncertainty and 
disruption. Employees who indicate that their employers support mental health 
well have better mental health scores than those who say that their employers 
poorly or inconsistently support their mental health needs. 

"As the pandemic continues, people are experiencing mental strains that no one 
anticipated six months ago. The impact of this strain cannot be ignored. We are 
seeing everything from an increase in suicidal thoughts, reduced motivation at 
work, to reluctance to seek health care. All of this has long-term 
implications," said Paula Allen, senior vice president of research, analytics 
and innovation. "The good news is that we have seen that the support provided 
by employers makes a big difference in managing these risks, and employees 
value that support."

As organizations focus on managing through the pandemic, managers and leaders 
should consider taking some of the following actions to better help their 
employees:

   -- Talk frequently about mental health – Communicate about mental health
      often and recognize that the pandemic has increased the level of mental
      health risk for all people. 
   -- Promote mental health resources – These resources include employee
      assistance programs, and digital resources such as internet-based
      cognitive behavioural therapy, which helps build the skills necessary for
      coping with challenging times when anxiety is high. 
   -- Train managers to identify early warning signs – Train or educate
      managers on the need for increased recognition during difficult times;
      the need for reasonable flexibility with respect to how work is done; and
      how to recognize and respond to signs of burnout. 
   -- Invest in employee financial wellbeing – Provide financial wellbeing
      resources that provide education and encourage emergency savings, given
      its strong impact on mental health. 
   -- Pay special attention to those most at risk – Focus additional attention
      on groups that are most at risk, including parents, younger employees,
      lower income employees, non-White employees and those who identify as
      female or other. 
   -- Be consistent – Ensure that your organization is consistent in your
      efforts to support mental health among employees as inconsistent action
      erodes the benefits you may have realized prior to or early on in the
      pandemic.

The full Australian report includes more insights on what employers can do to 
help support their employees, data on changes to mental stress, and variations 
of the Mental Health Index(TM) score by demographics, industries and regions. 
The full Australian report can be found at 
https://www.morneaushepell.com/permafiles/93052/mental-health-index-report-australia-september-2020.pdf.


About the Mental Health Index(TM)
The monthly survey by Morneau Shepell was conducted through an online survey in 
English from August 21 to August 30, 2020, with 1,000 respondents in Australia. 
All respondents reside in Australia and were employed within the last six 
months. The data has been statistically weighted to ensure the regional and 
gender composition of the sample reflect this population. The margins of error 
for the survey are +/- 3.2 percent, valid 19 times out of 20. The Mental Health 
Index(TM) is published monthly, beginning April 2020, and compares against 
benchmark data collected in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The Mental Health Index(TM) is owned by Morneau Shepell – the wellbeing company 
that acquired LifeWorks in 2018.

About Morneau Shepell
Morneau Shepell is a leading provider of technology-enabled HR services that 
deliver an integrated approach to employee wellbeing through our cloud-based 
platform. Our focus is providing world-class solutions to our clients to 
support the mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing of their people. 
By improving lives, we improve business. Our approach spans services in 
employee and family assistance, health and wellness, recognition, pension and 
benefits administration, retirement consulting, actuarial and investment 
services. Morneau Shepell employs approximately 6,000 employees who work with 
some 24,000 client organizations that use our services in 162 countries. For 
more information, visit morneaushepell.com.

Heather MacDonald, Morneau Shepell, media@morneaushepell.com, 
0011-1-855-622-3327; Mike Jurs, Allison+Partners, mike.jurs@allisonpr.com, 
0011-1-415-875-3050

SOURCE: Morneau Shepell Inc.