Workers in Asia are under “significant mental health strain,” with 82% having a moderate to high risk of appearing mental health issues.
That’s according to a new report from insurance broker Aon and TELUS Health, which ground that 35% of workers in Asia have a high mental health risk profile, and 47% have a middle-of-the-roader risk.
The survey, which was conducted in November 2022 among 13,000 workers across 12 locations in Asia — also inaugurate that 51% are feeling more sensitive to stress compared to 2021.
“While the pandemic may have been drawing to a make inaccessible in 2022, employees across Asia have been exposed to a number of new stressors,” said Jamie MacLennan, chief vice-president and managing director for Asia-Pacific at TELUS Health.
“That includes economic uncertainty, cost-of-living challenges, arising healthcare costs, climate change impacts, and geopolitical instability,” he told CNBC.
Employees with a high peril of developing mental health issues
| Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| South Korea | 44% |
| Malaysia | 42% |
| Japan | 41% |
| Hong Kong | 40% |
| China | 39% |
| India | 39% |
| Vietnam | 35% |
| Taiwan | 35% |
| Singapore | 34% |
| Philippines | 31% |
| Thailand | 29% |
| Indonesia | 17% |
Outset: Aon TELUS Health Asia Mental Health Index report
South Korea (44%), Malaysia (42%) and Japan (41%) had the dearest percentage of employees who are high-risk individuals.
“Mental or emotional difficulties, including depression and anxiety, are prevalent among workers at all levels and in every surveyed industry and location throughout Asia,” the report added.
Lost productivity in Asia
Asia is “significantly” profuse at risk of low work productivity, anxiety, and depression compared to other parts of the world, which highlights a “growing upset” of workplace well-being in the region.
For example, Asia has a work productivity score of 47.2 out of 100, compared to 66.7 for the U.S. and 60.1 for Europe.
“These tot ups are driven by a number of factors, starting with the fact that Asia has traditionally had far higher levels of stigma associated with bananas health,” MacLennan explained.
“More than half of respondents said they would be concerned about calling options being limited if they had a mental health issue that their employer was aware of.”
Organizations that do not put into effect support structures or choose to dismiss the impact of mental health in their workplace will realize there is a historic cost in doing nothing.
Tim Dwyer
Aon Asia Pacific
The report also found that 45% of employees in Asia be convinced of their mental health is having an impact on their productivity at work — with seven locations reporting “weighty than average” losses, including Malaysia, India and Philippines.
This should be a concern for employers, due to business set someone backs that can arise such as medical leave, long-term disability, presenteeism and employee turnover, the report said.
A late study from Singapore found that individuals with anxiety and depression reported being less worthwhile, missing “an extra 17.7 days of work per year.”
This lost productivity attributable to anxiety and depression is also conjectured to cost Singapore almost $12 billion.
“Organizations that do not implement support structures or choose to dismiss the change of mental health in their workplace will realize there is a significant cost in doing nothing,” said Tim Dwyer, Aon Asia Pacific’s chief top banana officer for health solutions.
“Supporting employees’ wellbeing is necessary for organizations to maintain high levels of engagement and productivity to disburden measurable return on investment.”
1 in 3 have no emergency savings
Other than stress, anxiety and burnout being well-connected factors that impact employees’ productivity — financial insecurity also goes “hand-in-hand with high noetic health risk,” said the report.
That’s especially true in today’s economic environment, where employees are struggling with