Women are more at risk for mental health issues than men, reveals new study

Modern Health, a leading workplace mental health platform, shared that employees across the globe are struggling with burnout, resulting in losses in productivity, engagement and retention across organisations. The findings from its Global Insights Playbook also highlighted that women are more at risk than men for mental health issues, with the highest risk in Pakistan and India.

Factors that can affect mental health in the workplace

Dr Myra Altman, VP of Clinical Strategy and Research at Modern Health revealed why is it necessary for employers around the globe to identify and understand the findings.  "One-size-fits-all simply doesn't work when it comes to mental health support. These findings reinforce the need for a deeper commitment to equitable mental health support for all populations regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or geographical location,” said Altman. 

She further added, “It has never been clearer that cultural differences can affect an individual's mental health needs and care preferences. This research empowers leaders with a better understanding of how these nuances present themselves in the workplace and the critical need for culturally centered support."

Modern Health analysed anonymous utilisation from over 100,000 members across the US, Canada, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America to reveal how employee needs and care preferences vary by country and region.

"From our research, we can see that members in the U.S. and Canada have the highest preference for one-on-one services like therapy and coaching compared to regions such as APAC which shows a stronger preference for self-guided care than other regions. Out of all the regions, Japan and the U.S. are reporting the highest levels of employee burnout with females in the U.S. more at risk for mental health challenges than men," added Altman.

Women are at an increased rate of mental health concerns

Overall, men reported feeling higher levels of well-being. Globally, on average more men (22%) than women (17%) appear to be in the low-risk category. Women's increased rate of mental health concerns is likely to be related to a variety of disparities like gender-based violence or socioeconomic disadvantage.

Areas in which members around the globe need support 

• Members were asked to rank areas they'd like the most support. The study revealed the highest-ranked focus areas globally were anxiety, depression, burnout, and relationships/communication.
• Out of all the regions, Canada, the UK and the US report the highest desire to focus on burnout and anxiety to improve their mental health. While India, Ireland and Pakistan are showing the least.
• In the US, anxiety was the top concern (20%), followed by relationships/communication (18%).
• In the UK, anxiety dominates (22%) followed by depression (15%).
• In Pakistan, depression is the top concern (21%) followed by anxiety (10%).