Facts About Mental Illness In The Workplace

Link to: Facts About Mental Illness In The Workplace

o Percentage of Canadian employers who consider the continuous rise in employees’ mental health claims to be a top concern: 56%

o Percentage of short term disability claims related to mental illness in Canada: 75%

o Percentage of long term disability claims related to mental illness in Canada: 79%

o Percentage increase in long term disability costs: 27%

o Percentage of employers who track disability claims costs as a percentage of payroll: 28%

o Percentage of employers who have plans to address mental health and mental illness in the workplace: 31%

Source: Mental health claims on the rise in Canada: Watson Wyatt’s
Staying @ Work Survey (Sept 2005). Available at: www.watsonwyatt.com/canada

o Fastest growing category of disability costs to Canadian employers: Depression

o Annual losses to the Canadian economy due to mental illness in the workplace: $33 billion

o Amount employer will save, per employee per year, for those who get treatment: from $5000 - $10,000 in average wage replacement, sick leave and prescription drug costs.

Source: Mental Health Works, Mental health facts. Available at:
http://www.mentalhealthworks.ca/facts/index.asp

o Percentage of people with serious mental illness who are unemployed: 70 – 90%

Source: Fact Sheet, Employment and mental illness. Available at: www.ontario.cmha.ca

o Percentage of people with serious mental illness who want to work: 80%

Source: World Health Organization (2000). Mental health and work:
Impact, issues and good practices. Available at: www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/712.pdf