Despite the information available and the strong business case to do so, there are still very few employers investing in mental health prevention and the costs are growing.
A recent report released by CSA estimates that poor mental health is costing Canada approximately $180 billion annually, and employers are absorbing the lion’s share of those costs.
In the report, The Economic Cost of Mental Health in Canada, released in April of this year, the authors, Olga Morawczynski, Founder of Health-3 and CSA Public Policy Fellow, Kathleen Dobson, Associate Scientist at the Institute for Work & Health and Bill Howatt, Founder of Howatt Human Resources Consulting and regular contributor to this blog, sought to answer the questions:
What is the current cost of poor mental health and mental illness in Canada?
What are the most prominent costs?
Who is paying these costs?
How are these costs impacting Canadian workers, employers and the economy?
How did we get to these costs?
Their research uncovered that Canadian employers are paying $110 billion (61%) of the costs of poor mental health through direct costs and indirect costs. They also found that only $15 billion (14%) is being spent on prevention.
Has your commitment to mental health prevention wavered?
When we were going through COVID, many employers understood the significant toll it would take on the mental health of employees and there seemed to be some movement toward increasing investment. In Workplace Safety & Prevention Services’ (WSPS) 2023 Health and Safety Leadership Survey, 97% of leaders said they considered mental health to be an emerging concern.
While mental health issues related to COVID and isolation may have eased, we are living in a different world and anxiety and uncertainty continue to grow. In a recent post, we talked about the Global Wellness Institute’s findings about the many pressures affecting employees.
“In 2026, workforce wellbeing is under real pressure. Economic volatility, geopolitical conflict, technological shifts and climate disruption are creating what feels like an era of heightened uncertainty. At the same time, rapid AI adoption, strict return to office mandates and relentless organizational changes have left many workers feeling disengaged, anxious and replaceable as change moves faster than anyone can reasonably keep up.
Work intensification—the sense that expectations, speed and mental load keep rising even as technology promises relief—is at the core of this trend. Many employees are working the same or longer hours, juggling heavier cognitive demands and feeling they must always be “on.” The result? Work increasingly feels chaotic and fragmented, with less recovery time and growing burnout.”
Prevention is one of your best business investments
With so much stress and uncertainty, people want to feel safe, recognized and protected at work.
When employees know that you care about their mental well-being, it shows up in their work and attitudes and reaps many benefits:
Deeper engagement
Lower absenteeism
Stronger retention
Less presenteeism
Lower costs associated with illness and injury
Taking a preventative approach and asking the right questions can also help ensure that you are investing wisely and not spending money on programs and resources that don’t achieve the intended results. In recent Trusted Leader posts, Dr. Bill Howatt has shared tips for assessing ROI beyond financial gain and adopting a prevention mindset to strengthen prevention and avoid wasteful spending.
A practical roadmap to prevention
The WSPS free Mental Harm Prevention Roadmap, designed to complement the National Standard, CSA-Z1003-13 Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, provides all the tools needed to assess your current state, build an action plan and monitor results.
The Roadmap highlights that there is no single action that is guaranteed to prevent mental harm. Safe workplaces are created through commitment, investment and shared responsibility by employers and employees.
| Employer actions | Employee actions |
| Provide acknowledgement and recognition | Get enough sleep |
| Manager workloads | Be physically active, if able |
| Communicate roles clearly | Make healthy food choices |
| Build trust is managers | Maintain social connections |
| Ensure employees feel psychologically and physically safe | Priortize work-life integration |
| Maintain positive peer interactions | Build resiliency |
It also outlines the eight building blocks of psychological safety to help prevent mental harm in your workplace.
Foundation – Is your workplace invested?
Support – Do your employees feel cared for?
Planning – What is your path forward?
Leadership – Do leadership values align with health and safety?
Culture – Do your people share the same beliefs, values and norms?
Connection – Do your employees feel included?
Prevention – Can our risk be reduced?
Excellence – Are you prepared to go the extra mile?
The cost of waiting is too high
Employers have a role to play in improving health and safety on a national level. The CSA Report points to two actions that could significantly reduce the cost of mental health. Mental health parity, where mental and physical health receive the same funding, coverage and accountability. The second involves workplaces, schools, primary care and communities addressing issues before they become critical and involve emergency departments and the judicial system.
While the broader impact is critically important, addressing mental health on the frontlines of your workplace will have a direct effect on the engagement of employees and success of your own business. In the 2023 Health and Safety Leadership Survey 97% of leading employers said having a robust health and safety system is critical to sustainability. Nearly 80% noted that their program includes mental health and 83% said it is was critical to attracting and retaining employees.
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