A new survey of 79,000 businesses worldwide found that 80 per cent of Canadian employers are unsure whether their employees would discuss mental health issues with them, according to Peninsula Group.
The global HR consultancy surveyed small and medium-sized businesses across five countries, revealing significant gaps in workplace mental health communication despite increased awareness of the issue.
Canadian employers struggling too
One in six Canadian employers reported experiencing poor mental health over the past year, according to the survey. When seeking help, 21 per cent spoke to friends and family while only 10 per cent consulted their family doctor.
“Employers have a duty of care to safeguard the wellbeing of their people. However, the pressures that employers themselves feel can often be overlooked,” said Raj Singh, CEO at Peninsula Canada.
While 23 per cent of surveyed employers have an Employee Assistance Programme in place, only 2 per cent of employers who experienced mental health issues in the past year used it for support, Singh said.
Stigma persists despite progress
The survey found that 55 per cent of leaders globally noticed more open discussions about mental health at work over the past year. However, the disconnect between perceived openness and actual disclosure confidence suggests workplace mental health stigma remains strong.
“While it’s encouraging to see an overall decline in mental health-related absences in our survey results, majority of our respondents (80%) say they are not fully confident that their employees would disclose mental health concerns,” Singh said.
Some employer comments in the survey revealed ongoing stigma, including statements about seeking to hire people with “healthy lifestyles to avoid such problems,” according to Peninsula.
Canada lags in mental health support
The survey revealed several areas where Canadian workplaces trail other countries in mental health support:
- Only one in 100 Canadian workplaces have a mental health first aider, compared to one in eight globally
- Canadian and Irish employers showed the least confidence that employees would discuss mental health issues
- Employees in Canada are least likely to speak up about mental health struggles, according to the survey
However, Canadian employers are most likely to offer mental health days in addition to personal leave, with 66 per cent not offering or planning to introduce such days, compared to higher percentages in other surveyed countries.
Limited future support plans
Peninsula found that 51 per cent of surveyed businesses have no plans to introduce mental health support measures such as training, Employee Assistance Programmes, or mental health first aiders in the next 12 months.
“Are the measures being put in place by employers to help manage mental health in the workplace actually being embedded into workplaces or just a tick box exercise?” asked Mujda Rasoul, Associate Director of Service at Peninsula Canada.
The survey was conducted between May 12-23, 2025, across Peninsula Group’s client base in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK.
