TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Humi, the leading best-in-one people solution for Canadian businesses, released new data today revealing that Canadian employees want to access mental health support, but many can’t afford it.
The poll found that affordability is a significant barrier to Canadian employees’ access to mental health support. While three in five Canadian employees never or rarely access mental health services, four in five said they would like to access mental health services at least twice a year if cost were not a factor.
Key findings:
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Affordability as a primary barrier to access: 62.3 per cent of Canadian employees rarely or never access mental health services, however, if cost weren’t a factor, 78.6 per cent would ideally like to access mental health services at least twice a year.
- 25 per cent aspire to on a monthly basis.
- 22.3 per cent aspire to on a bi-weekly basis.
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Spending on mental health services – Three in five (60.8%) Canadian employees do not spend any money on mental health services.
- 6.4 per cent spend up to $250 per year.
- 8.1 per cent spend up to $500 per year.
- 7.1 per cent spend up to $1,000 per year.
- 11.5 per cent spend up to $2,500 per year.
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Many Canadian employees do not feel they can afford sufficient mental health services – Two in five (42.9%) Canadian employees feel they cannot afford to access mental health services as frequently as they need them.
- About one in four (24.5%) Canadian employees feel they can afford to access mental health services as frequently as they need them with coverage from employee benefits. This sentiment drops to 5.6 per cent without coverage from employee benefits.
Mental health continues to be a growing concern in Canada, with one in three Canadians diagnosed with anxiety or depression since the onset of COVID-19. However, the cost is increasingly becoming a significant barrier. Private therapy fees in Canada can range anywhere between $50 to $240 per hour.
Amidst a cost of living crisis, one in four Canadian employees rely on their employer benefits to afford mental health services, however, the frequency in which they can access services is determined by their benefits plan, not by their need.
“Most employers have come to understand that mental health is health, and like with other aspects of healthcare such as dental and vision, benefits are critical in Canadian employees’ ability to afford care not covered by their provincial healthcare plan,” said Courtney Lee, VP, People at Humi. “The problem is mental health benefits need to be approached differently than vision and dental as many people need to access them more frequently than an annual checkup. We urge employers to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach and expand initiatives to support employee well-being; in addition to psychology coverage under a group benefits plan and an EAP through Inkblot, Humi offers a shortened workweek and unlimited personal days to broaden their support for employee mental health.”
Humi makes managing employee health benefits easy by offering employers a unified benefits and HR platform built for Canadian businesses. Learn more about Humi’s health benefits offering: https://www.humi.ca/employee-health-benefits.
About Humi
Humi is the leading employment platform for Canadian businesses. We know running a business is more than just paperwork and tasks – we make it easy to care for businesses and those who bring them to life. We’re the best choice for supporting Canadian businesses in being better employers with a unified payroll, HR, and benefits solution. To learn more about Humi, visit www.humi.ca.
The survey, conducted from April 15, 2024, to May 1, 2024, captures the responses of 645 participants based in Canada via an online questionnaire provided to Humi’s customer database as well as their LinkedIn followers. Every participant is a Canadian employee. The results of this report have an estimated 3 per cent margin of error.
