Research carried out by Canada Life has revealed strong demand from employees for more workplace mental health and wellbeing support.
In a poll of nearly 2,000 working adults with children of school age, more than half (54%) said they wanted their employers to introduce specific mental wellness days. This increased to 59% among female respondents who now currently work from home.
Overall, the data found 90% of people working from home either already have, or would like to have, better access to employer-provided mental health provisions.
Commenting on the research Dan Crook, director, Canada Life, said: “As employees close in on 12 months of working from home, it is imperative employers recognise and focus on the mental wellbeing of their employees.”
He added: “Whether it is continuing working from home or helping employees readjust to working in the office again, mental wellbeing and support should be a central focus of employers’ people management plans.”
The research further revealed why employees might be feeling under pressure.
According to the data, 54% of home workers thought their employer needed address their feelings of always needing to be present and online. This is a 17% jump from May 2020, when similar research conducted by Canada Life found that 46% of workers felt under pressure from presenteeism.
Crook added: “With mental health and wellbeing support now commonplace – especially in group protection schemes – employers should be helping employees access and utilise these support systems.”