Australian finance workers dissatisfied with 'tick the box' mental health support

A survey has examined how finance and insurance workers feel about bringing mental health concerns to work with them, with half of those surveyed saying they would hide a mental or physical condition to avoid being judged or discriminated against.

The survey was conducted by YouGov for the Australian College of Applied Professions (ACAP) in October 2021, surveying 1,000 people on their confidence in bringing mental health concerns to their managers or workplace for support. Half those surveyed felt that lip service was being paid to mental health care, despite greater attention being paid to wellbeing at work since the pandemic began.

While the survey was on 1,000 Australian workers, those working in finance were particularly dissatisfied with the ‘tick the box’ approach in newly-introduced mental health and wellbeing initiatives at work. Forty-nine per cent of the thousand people surveyed said their manager shows little if any genuine concern or empathy for their wellbeing, which jumped to 54 per cent amongst finance and insurance workers.

Fifty-four per cent said they would hide a mental or physical health condition to avoid judgement or discrimination, which jumped to 60 per cent in finance and insurance.

“In an age where we are repeatedly told ‘to be ourselves’ and that ‘it’s OK not to be OK’ at work, these latest findings suggest that many Australians still feel very guarded in the workplace,” said Australian College of Applied Professions chief executive, George Garrop.

“While over the past two years, many organisations have boosted their mental health, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion initiatives, our research indicates that these initiatives are not always leading to meaningful outcomes or positive sentiment for workers.”

There were some stark differences in Gen Z/Millennials and Baby Boomer views. Just over half of the Millennials surveyed said they don’t feel comfortable opening up about their values, culture or lifestyle, just 34 per cent of Baby Boomers said the same thing. Millennials and Gen Xers were much more likely than Baby Boomers to say they feel like their workplace was ticking boxes with mental health and wellbeing initiatives, with very little day-to-day concern.