Anxiety and Depression in the Workplace: Analysis by sector
This research brief studies mental health by workplace sector through the COVID-19 pandemic. We started this work to answer the question – how has mental health been affected as it pertains to our employment situation? We knew that some groups, notably the unemployed, had higher levels of anxiety and depression, and we suspected that some employed groups, such as nurses, would have higher negative mental health indicators as a direct result of their job. But a lot of other sectors were affected – from those where employees primarily worked from home to those where lockdowns had a dramatic impact.
Key Findings:
The frontline healthcare sector experiences the highest rates of self-rated and diagnosed anxiety both pre- and post-COVID-19. This sector has also experienced the largest increases in both self-rated levels and diagnoses of anxiety and depression.
There is a major discrepancy between professions in a breakdown of the frontline healthcare sector: mental health professionals and nurses are experiencing the highest levels of anxiety and depression, which have been further exacerbated by the pandemic.
The Restaurant and Retail sectors are also demonstrating some of the highest self-rated levels of anxiety and depression both pre- and post-COVID-19. However, they are not among the highest rates of diagnosis, which could be a result of limited access to benefits or industry stigma. We also consider that the anxiety created by precarious employment is likely different than the anxiety created by facing waves of COVID-19 patients.
