An April 2017 Ipsos poll commissioned by Global News which looked at the impact of mental health issues on Canadians in the past 12 months found that 17% of Canadians say they’ve taken time off work and school to deal with a personal mental health issue. Another 8% say they’ve taken time away from their professional lives to help a family member or close friend grappling with mental illness. As well, 23% say they are taking medication to help with their mental health issue.
Another 2017 Ipsos poll commissioned by Sun Life Financial Inc. found that nearly half of all Canadians (49%) have experienced a mental health issue that have impacted their lives. Unfortunately, only 28% of working Canadians living with a mental health issue have spoken to their employer about it – a sharp drop from the 56% of Canadians who have had a conversation about a serious physical issue with their employer.
See Global News video titled 500,000 Canadians miss work each week due to mental health concerns.
