Four out of 10 workers in the United States report that their job has either a somewhat negative or extremely negative impact on their mental health, according to a new Gallup survey released Thursday.
"For employees, their jobs and their workplaces more generally are significant influences on their overall wellbeing and the wellbeing of their family members,"Dan Witters, primary author of the study and research director at the Gallup National Health and Wellbeing Index, told ABC News. "That for so many their current job is harming their mental health is a devastating reality that leaders are going to need to come to grips with and take seriously."
Overall, per the study, almost 1 in 5 workers reported that their mental health was poor or fair, the two lowest ratings on the survey.
Notably, those workers reported approximately four times as many unplanned absences from work due to poor mental health than did workers who reported better mental health. Absences from work result in lost productivity. Per the study, across the entire workforce in the U.S., missing work due to poor mental health is estimated to cost the US economy over $47 billion a year in lost productivity.
"There is no question that mental health is a serious issue facing our society and our working age population … workers are struggling with mental health challenges to a high degree right now," Dr. Chris Cunningham, professor of occupational health psychology at the University of Tennessee, told ABC News.
Over 60% of the U.S. population -- more than 160 million people -- is in the workforce, and the average person who works full-time spends approximately half of their life when awake at work, according to theBureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Thus, workplaces can have a significant impact on mental health and well-being for a lot of the U.S. population.
Nearly half of workers say their job hurts their mental health, survey finds
Missing work due to poor mental health is estimated to cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars.
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