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World Mental Health Day: Nearly 40% Report Taking Leave from Work Due to Stress in the Past Year

A global survey conducted by Ipsos for World Mental Health Day reveals that while 78% of respondents think mental health is as important as physical health, only 34% believe their country’s healthcare system treats them equally. Stress is a significant concern, with 62% reporting daily life disruptions due to stress, and 39% taking time off work because of stress in the past year. Women are more likely to be affected by stress, with 36% reporting its impact on daily life compared to 26% of men. Despite increased awareness, there is still work to be done to improve mental health support and equity in healthcare systems.

From the original article published by Ipsos:

58% globally think about their mental wellbeing often.

While 78% think mental health is as important as physical health, only 34% globally say their country’s healthcare system treats them equally.

Sixty-two per cent say in the past year their daily life has been disrupted due to stress and 39% say they have had to take time off work in the last 12 months because of stress.

Drawing on three years of trend data, the Ipsos World Mental Health Day survey explores changes in how people feel about their own mental health, the factors that are impacting their mental wellbeing, and sets this against the backdrop of the broader healthcare environment.

Key findings:

Across 31 countries, 78% think their mental health is as important as their physical health.
But just 34% globally say mental and physical health are treated equally by their country’s healthcare systems.
People are more likely to say they often think about their physical health (71%), compared to 58% who say they often think about their mental wellbeing.
People in LATAM are particularly likely to think about their mental health. Five of the top six countries come from the region.
A third (34%) say stress has impacted their life multiple times in the last year and 27% say they have felt depressed on a number of occasions, where they couldn’t cope because of stress.

Mental health vs. physical health

Highlighting the importance of mental health as an issue, it is now seen as the number one health concern in our recent Ipsos Global Health Service Monitor above illnesses like cancer.

Our World Mental Health Day report finds that 58% say they think about their mental wellbeing often. South Africans and Brazilians (both 75%) are the most likely to express this. While South Korea is the only place where people are more likely to say they don’t think about their mental wellbeing much – 61% saying they do so ‘not very much/never’.

78% globally say their mental health is equally as important as their physical health but only a third (34%) say their country’s healthcare system treat them equally. This sentiment is highest in LATAM with Argentina (88%), Colombia (87%) and Peru (also 87%) the three countries most likely to say this is the case.

However, many people think this is not reflected in their country’s healthcare system. LATAM is the region with the lowest proportion of people who think they are treated equally, with Mexico (38%), Argentina (37%) and Colombia (35%) saying physical health is treated as more important.

Countries in Asia are among the most likely to say that mental health is treated equally by their healthcare system. In five countries (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, and Singapore) a majority say mental wellbeing is treated with an equal level of priority as physical health, while Japan and South Korea also record high levels (49% and 45%, respectively).

Read the full article to find out about the impact on stress and download the full report.