Working Canadians Are More Willing to Admit to Struggling with a Mental Illness in 2020, but Less Likely to Consider Depression a Disability

Toronto, ON, September 22, 2020 — As we continue to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, there is increased attention being paid to how the coronavirus is impacting the mental health of Canadians. News stories increasingly focus on how social distancing and long periods of isolation lead to increased levels of anxiety and depression among Canadians, and a discourse is emerging across the country surrounding how mental health can be supported during a time when the future (including the potential of a second wave of the virus) seems uncertain. A poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of RBC Insurance shows that Canadians who are employed, or have recently been laid off as a result of the pandemic (referred to as working Canadians hereafter) have seen their attitudes towards mental health shift in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, posing important questions on how Canadians will weather the coming months.

Working Canadians Feel More Comfortable Admitting To Struggling With A Mental Illness, But Fewer Consider Depression A Disability

Working Canadians were asked a series of questions pertaining to their attitudes towards mental health, disability coverage, what they consider to be a disability, and how their attitudes have changed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The survey found that respondents would be increasingly willing to admit if they were struggling with a mental illness with 77% indicating they would discuss a mental illness with their co-worker or boss, +4 pts from the previous year. Furthermore, stigma no longer tops the list of reasons of why working Canadians would choose not to disclose their struggles with mental illness, dropping to third in a list of reasons of why one would feel reluctant to discuss, or would not discuss their mental health challenges with their colleagues.

While this appears to indicate that the broader social discourse has erased some stigma surrounding mental health - all is not as it seems. In 2020, although 51% consider mental health broadly to be a disability, working Canadians are actually significantly less likely to consider depression, specifically, as a disability than the year previous (47% depression, -5pts). And when asked why they would be reluctant to admit, or would not admit to struggling with a mental illness, reasons including fear of being treated differently (45%, +1), not wanting to be judged (44%, +4 pts) or considered weak (33%, +4pts), along with a desire for privacy (50%, +5pts), come to the forefront - indicating that a stigma surrounding mental health still exist, a fact that was highlighted by 45% of respondents directly in the survey (unchanged from the previous year).

Working Canadians Are Increasingly Buying Their Own Disability Insurance, As A Quarter Indicate Buying Disability Coverage Is More Important To Them Since COVID-19

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic is increasingly evident when considering their uptake of disability insurance. Working Canadians are increasingly purchasing their own disability insurance (as opposed to accessing coverage via their employers) which is leading more Canadians to have coverage overall. A quarter (23%) of working or recently laid off Canadians have personally purchased their disability coverage, 8 points higher than 2019, while the proportion of respondents receiving coverage via their employers has remained stable at 45%, leading the overall coverage rate of working Canadians to sit at 55%, +5 pts from last year. The connection between coronavirus, and uptake of disability coverage is further supported by the fact that a quarter of employed or recently laid-off Canadians say buying disability insurance is more important to them since the pandemic (23%) while one in five say they are more likely to purchase disability coverage since COVID-19 (18%).

This may reflect the fact that working Canadians recognize the toll that mental illness can have on a person’s life. Seven in ten working Canadians acknowledge that keeping a mental illness from the people around you would have a negative impact on a person’s wellbeing, while two-thirds feel there are negative consequences for family and friend relationships (65% and 64% respectively. The negative consequences of hiding a mental illness also seep into professional life, as two thirds of respondents acknowledge that there would be negative impact on work productivity (67%) and co-worker relationships (65%).

Working Canadians Experienced With Mental Health And Disability Struggles More Likely To Understand The Need For Insurance And The Seriousness Of Mental Illness

Respondents who have experienced mental health challenges may be predisposed to consider disability coverage important during this turbulent time and are more likely to act by purchasing disability coverage to protect themselves during and after COVID-19. Two in ten (17%) working Canadians have taken time off for a mental disability they experienced while 34% have had a family member or someone they know take time off for a mental health disability. Respondents who have taken time off for their mental health are more likely to consider disability insurance more important since COVID-19 (33% vs. 20% not taken time off) and are more likely to purchase disability coverage in the wake of the pandemic (26% vs. 17% not taken time off).

This relationship is not limited to mental health- respondents who are experienced with disability (know someone who has taken time off work for a disability, or have themselves taken time off for a disability) are significantly more likely to consider mental health struggles as disabilities (59% vs. 39% not experienced with taking time off for disability) and would be more willing to admit to their boss or coworker that they are struggling with a mental illness (80% vs. 72% not experienced with taking time off for disability). So while at first glance, mental health may seem like a generalized issue that we all know about, the data show that those who have seen disability and mental health up close are some of the most willing to talk about it and believe it to be disabling.

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between July 14-16, 2020, on behalf of RBC Insurance. For this survey, a sample of 1,001 employed or recently laid off Canadians aged 18 years and over was interviewed. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all employed or recently laid off Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson

Vice President, Canada, Public Affairs

+1 416 324-2002

[email protected]  

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