The mental health of Canadian employees is deteriorating, creating an increasingly costly problem for employers, according to a new survey by Dialogue Health Technologies.

“Mental health issues are now the number one reason for leave of absence in Canada, and it is certainly the number one cost, and then disability insurance premiums have also gone up to match that,” Marc Robin, medical director at Dialogue Health Technologies, said to PeopleNX in an interview.

“Absenteeism from work because of burnout, depression, anxiety disorders has increased significantly in the last couple of years, with one-in-five Canadians suffering from symptoms of depression, anxiety, or burnout.”

Robin was referencing results from two recent surveys of 1,002 employed Canadians, between April 29 and May 13, and 200 HR decision-makers, conducted between April 29 and May 19. The surveys were undertaken by Leger on behalf of the virtual healthcare and wellness platform company.

It found that 35 per cent of those surveyed said their mental health has worsened this year, compared to 30 per cent in 2025.

Sleep difficulties ‘most common’ problem

How this is manifesting itself should be concerning for employers. “It turns out 38 per cent are struggling with sleep. (Poor) sleep has been the symptom that is most common that we pick up.”

On the flip side, only 21 per cent of employees reported feeling energized, and around half are experiencing burnout or ongoing cycles of burnout followed by recovery, according to the surveys.

The overall cost to the economy is staggering, according to Robin. “The numbers Canada-wide are in the $70-billion range. But for an employer, it’s also very visible. Somebody is not in their chair but it affects the whole team because somebody needs to take double-duty or spread the load around.”

This also means that absenteeism “represents about 45 per cent of the burden of mental health costs in productivity. The other 55 per cent is presenteeism,” he said.

Presenteeism occurs when an employee physically shows up but is not in optimal condition.

“These are the people who are present at work but affected from their mental-health state; their sleeplessness, their mood or anxiety levels, and are not being very productive or as productive as they should. This is when you say nearly a majority of Canadians seem to be showing up at work, not knowing that they’re not performing at their normal levels,” Robin explained.

What HR needs to know

While these results are troubling, what is the impact for employers?

“Employee well-being is a key driver of productivity, of retention, of engagement at a time where we need all those things to be firing on all cylinders. Yet many organizations still struggle to connect the benefits that they invest in to measurable business outcomes, and that is becoming more important,” Robin said.

The surveys also point to reasons why employees are having difficulty accessing mental health benefits, even with those employers who offer fulsome offerings.

It showed there is a “friction to access benefits,” and this needs to be addressed, according to Robin.

“The good news is about two-thirds of people who have workplace benefits in this survey claim to have used it, but the bad news is only 20 per cent were satisfied with the experience.”

When a worker cannot easily find the help, they often wait it out, without actually treating the mental health issue.

Many employers may want to find out how they can best help employees, but there is a “measurement gap” between what is offered and how it is being utilized.

“Only one in three leaders report that they get the data that they need to assess and evaluate the impact of the investment that they make, and honestly, that’s not sufficient for those HR leaders to go get financing for more services,” Robin said.

“What are the costs of those claims? What’s the utilization rate or engagement with those services? And what is the employee’s satisfaction about using those services?”

Make it easier for employees to find help

The solution is not to simply add more benefits to the overall package. “I think we’re beyond adding just more coverage, or layering other solutions one on top of the other, but it is about delivering care from an integrated approach that people can access early, easily, and then obviously it demonstrates the value,” he said.

It’s best to offer a friction-less benefits package, Robin explained. “The integrated health platform really decreases the barriers to access and the friction to access.”

“The burden should not be on the employee to know if (they) need financial help or career or mental health support. You just should be able to say, ‘I have a problem with,’ and then fill out the blank, and then the services open up to you in a way that meets you where you are,” Robin said.

And those services, whether mental or physical health, should be available within 24 or 48 hours, so the employee is helped in a timely manner.

“What success looks like in terms of decreasing that friction earlier is to be able to connect quickly when you have mustered the courage to admit to yourself, you need to seek help.”