Fewer than half of people leaders feel equipped to address employee mental health issues, but AI tools prove popular
As Canadian workplaces grapple with a persistent mental health crisis, new data underscores the need for innovative solutions—and artificial intelligence (AI) could play a pivotal role in supporting workers’ well-being.
The overall mental health score for Canadian workers stands at 64.0, according to the latest TELUS Mental Health Index, a modest improvement of nearly one point since March 2025. Yet, one-third of workers are at high risk for mental health issues, and nearly as many report feeling anxious (33%) or isolated (31%).
Over one-quarter (26%) say they feel depressed, and 27% admit their mental health is directly impacting their work productivity.
Financial insecurity leading source of stress
Financial insecurity is a leading source of stress, with 65% of workers having cut back on spending in the past two months due to economic uncertainty, finds TELUS.
Nearly three-quarters lack confidence in their financial future, and women are especially likely to feel financially vulnerable. Alarmingly, 29% of workers do not have emergency savings to cover basic needs, and those without such a safety net report a mental health score of just 36.2—less than half the score of those who do.
A recent international survey measuring work well-being across seven countries has found that Canada ranks the lowest, with just 20% of respondents saying they are thriving at work.
AI and mental health
A recent University of British Columbia survey of 300 students found that while ChatGPT is not necessarily a replacement for traditional therapy, :it is filling some kind of gap for students who may otherwise go unsupported," according to research assistant Rishika Daswani, in the Healthy Debate online publication.
More than half of students rated ChatGPT’s support as similar to traditional therapy, with nearly a quarter ranking it as better. However, the researchers caution that “AI lacks emotional tone and depth … making it less helpful for complex issues,” such as suicidal ideation or severe psychological distress.
“It’s not to say that therapists aren’t doing great work, but people may be thinking that because access [to therapy] is so limited … they’re not seeing [therapists] as often as they would like.”
However, Daswani said in the Healthy Debate article that she is still concerned about its use for more complex conditions, such as suicidal ideation, bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorders.
“AI lacks emotional tone and depth … making it less helpful for complex issues,” she says. “ChatGPT can do really well with things like [offering] grounding techniques for stress and anxiety … But my biggest concern is that I find ChatGPT in particular to be a bit of an echo chamber.”
The combination of AI and human touch when it comes to addressing mental health concerns is employers’ best bet, says Rachel Katz, a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, in the Healthy Debate article.
“There’s a special kind of relationship that has a set of [unique] characteristics … I don’t actually think that AI tools are capable of filling that role.” For Katz, things like psychological courage, the mutual capacity for vulnerability and interpersonal trust are all core tenets of something called the “therapeutic alliance,” which she argues cannot be replicated by something non-human, according to Healthy Debate.
“It’s not that I don’t think that the models are not sophisticated enough yet,” says Katz. “I don’t think that something that is not human is able to enter into that kind of relationship.”
Leadership gaps and communication failures
Meanwhile, there’s a critical gap in leadership readiness, according to TELUS’ survey of 3,000 respondents.
Fewer than half of people leaders feel equipped to address employee mental health issues, and one-third say their organisation does not offer mental health leadership training.
Over two in five (41%) of people leaders are unsure, and 11% would not know what to do if an employee was struggling with a mental health issue, the report states.
Communication about available health and well-being programs is also lacking. More than three in five workers report unclear or inconsistent messaging, and nearly one in five say they rarely or never receive information about these resources. Workers who perceive communication as unclear are nearly eight times more likely to be unaware of available programs, further compounding the risk of unaddressed mental health needs.
