Jobs in the US are more likely to harm workers’ mental health than to benefit it, and that comes at a huge cost to the economy, according to a new survey.
a rooster poll of nearly 16,000 working adults in the US found that nearly one in five workers rate their mental health as “fair” or “poor,” and those employees take an average of 12 unplanned days off per year. Extrapolated to the entire workforce, collective lost days cost the economy nearly $48 billion annually in lost productivity, the researchers said.
Workers with a better morale have 2.5 days of unplanned absences per year. Broken down, the cost of a lost day of work is at least $340 a day for full-time workers and $170 a day for part-time workers, according to Gallup.
Young women fight more
Working women under the age of 30 are more likely to have mental health problems than other groups in the workforce, with 36% of young female employees reporting poor mental health.
More broadly, four in 10 workers said their job negatively affects their mental health, versus three in 10 workers who say it makes them mentally healthier. Nearly half of workers under the age of 30 report that their job causes them stress, depression, and other problems. By contrast, workers age 65 and older overwhelmingly say their job has a positive impact on their mental health.
As workers advance in their careers, they tend to do more meaningful work and also gain autonomy, characteristics of a job that make it more satisfying, Gallup said. More workers in their later years are also choosing to continue working, presumably because their jobs bring them satisfaction.
A recent report from the Office of the Surgeon General found that difficult managers and a cutthroat work culture can take a heavy toll on physical and mental health of employees. According to the study, occupational factors such as low wages, discrimination, harassment, overwork, long commutes and other factors can lead to chronic physical conditions such as heart disease and cancer, as well as depression and anxiety.
