AXA publishes the fourth edition of the Mind Health Report

The state of mind health in the world continues to give cause for concern, with almost one third of the global population currently experiencing a mental health condition, according to the fourth iteration of AXA’s Mind Health Report released today.

The study, conducted in collaboration with IPSOS, aims to identify mental health and wellness issues in global society in order to build solutions to mitigate them. 16,000 respondents from 16 countries across Europe, Asia and America were surveyed.

In this fourth edition, AXA and IPSOS focused specifically on understanding the working population’s mental health and wellbeing. It reveals that 3 in 4 people are experiencing multiple mental health conditions as a result of their work environment, of whom almost 70% feel disengaged with work.

The work environment seems to take the greatest toll on the mental health of younger populations. Whilst almost a quarter (23%) of all workers have been signed off work on sick leave due to mental health issues, this figure rises to 38% amongst young workers. Almost two-thirds (62%) of those aged between 18-44 responded that mental health care and support provided by their employers is important in their decision to remain at their places of work.

The economic impact is clear. For countries and territories included in our study, the cost of mind health at work is estimated at 2,7 trillion dollars, on average 4,4 of their GDP*.

Mental health conditions are, in large part, preventable with accessible and comprehensive support. More than 50% responded that company-driven mental health initiatives and benefits, such as firmwide mental health first aid courses, would influence their engagement at work.

Today, only 4 out 10 people would seek professional help if work affected their mental wellbeing. Almost 70% believe that they could reach out to family, friends, or peers if they needed the psychological support. For example, AXA France built an internal network of 100 employees to act as mental health first-aid respondents towards peers.

* Cebr was commissioned by AXA to estimate the impact of workers' disengagement from work / decreased productivity due to the health consequences of work-related stress on the economy of 16 countries and territories.