Ever looked at an inbox full of emails after a long day of working through them and thought to yourself, “This is driving me crazy,” and then returned to getting your work done? You likely already know that you’re not alone, but there is new data to suggest that over half of workers believe their job harms their mental health. Monster’s 2026 State of Workplace Mental Health Report took a closer look at the mental state of employees today, offering workers a space to air out their concerns.
There’s no doubt that the experience of employment can be taxing for most employees, but looking at the numbers can help put things into perspective on just how serious matters are. About 59% of workers say their job harms their mental health at least monthly. A workplace mental health crisis awaits the workforce if changes aren’t made to operations today, and with May being Mental Health Awareness Month, there’s no time like the present to dive deeper into the matter.
Around 59% of workers say their job harms their mental health. It’s time to revisit the conversation around workplace well-being. (Image: Pexels)
Over 50% of Employees Report That Their Job Harms Their Mental Health: What Are We Going to Do About It?
Discussions of mental health are no small matter, particularly in the context of today’s job market. Such conversations can be uncomfortable to bring up and harder still to navigate, however, when matters start to escalate and evolve, undoing their effects can be far more complicated. Addressing this workplace mental health crisis is in the best interest of every employer, particularly during turbulent periods within the organization’s operations. Monster’s latest report assessing workplace mental health trends found that 59% of workers feel that their job harms their mental health at least monthly.
More specifically, 10% say their job negatively impacts their mental health daily. Meenwhile 22% report the same experience a few times a week, and 27% report feeling negatively impacted by their work a few times a month. This experience of lowered mental health isn’t just about anger or temporary frustration. About 46% of workers report feeling burnt out, with 59% adding that they feel stressed on a daily basis.
Burnout expands beyond the exhaustion we typically associate with the term to a range of other symptoms and experiences that can cause an employee’s condition to deteriorate. About 39% experience anxiety symptoms, 37% have trouble sleeping, 34% suffer from headaches and physical pain, while 25% experience symptoms of depression.
Why Are Employees Experiencing a Decline in Their Mental Health?
It isn’t enough to merely acknowledge that employees are feeling stressed and depressed in the workplace. It is just as essential to learn why. The biggest factor driving stress at work is the increasing workload and the limited number of workers to handle it. Particularly in an era where layoffs and downsizing efforts are leading the way, employers are turning to smaller teams to drive the business, leaving workers with more work and fewer hands to share the load.
Additionally, employee stress is also driven by poor management and ongoing workplace conflict. Both aspects can sour the mood of any workplace, and without a steady work-life balance to keep things in check, matters only escalate. The workplace mental health report also found respondents citing stagnant pay and job insecurity as their reasons for feeling stressed, and this tension ultimately leads to a constant strain on their mental health.
If the Workplace Is So Toxic, Why Don’t Employees Just Quit Their Jobs to Protect Their Mental Health?
Employers often assume that dissatisfied employees quit and clear the way for newer workers to take their place. More often than not, employees have no choice but to stay. Over 71% of workers admit to staying in a job that’s toxic, whether due to financial pressures or uncertainties regarding other employment opportunities.
This serves as a reminder that quitting isn’t as convenient an alternative for most who are unsatisfied with their work. Your next question might then be, why don’t they speak up about their experience and take action to initiate change in the workplace? There are many reasons for that as well.
Leaving no stone unturned, Monster’s workplace mental health report also explores this apparent silence on such topics at work, and they found that despite the progress that has been made in the area, most still see such topics as taboo. About 37% of employees feel they cannot be openly honest about their mental health at work without being perceived negatively.
Toxic Attitudes on the Job Make Conversations Around Mental Health Harder to Bring Up
There are many ways that negativity around such health conversations tends to emerge. Some worry about being labelled as difficult employees, while others worry about the retaliation they will face at work. This concern extends not just to a firm rebuttal against unpleasant conversation, but instead stretches as far as potentially serious effects on career growth or even the possibility of employees losing their jobs. About 35% have actively faced such repercussions at work.
These concerns are not unfounded. Within many workplaces, speaking out about mental health is still treated as a sign of weakness and marks employees as being “difficult.” It becomes twice as hard to discuss burnout or depression at work when the cause is someone with more seniority in the workplace, as many leaders do not face any consequences for toxic behavior. Poor management and lack of accountability can encourage more employees and managers to adopt unwelcome behavior, leading to a cycle of greater toxicity at work.
Supporting Employee Mental Health is a Defining Trait of Top-Notch Work Culture
These workplace mental health trends don’t rise and fall in isolation; they emerge when the overall culture of the workplace leaves gaps for toxic attitudes to take shape. Fixing poor mental health within the workplace isn’t just about grounding techniques or teaching workers to count their breath. It requires commitment to build up a healthy culture at work. Employees may have other factors bringing their mental health down, but considering their work makes up a significant chunk of their daily routine, stability on the job can offer them stability outside it as well.
Some degree of stress and tension is normal in any organization, whether it’s tight deadlines or corrections from a manager when too many errors slip into an employee’s work. However, when such tension becomes a normalized part of the routine, sustained across situations with no hope for change, matters become more dire.
Employers need to take active measures to address these unfortunate trends and resolve them, as opposed to suppressing them. Hiding matters away does no one any favors, and avoiding the conversations only allows problems to grow. Talking to employees, understanding their struggles, updating workplace practices, and reshaping the work culture are essential considerations while creating job opportunities where workers can feel excited about their roles and the possibilities that come with them.
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