It’s no secret that stressful work environments are bad for our health, the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health has been warning about it for years. Workplace mental health may be getting more attention these days, but new research shows the problem is actually getting worse. A new study from Monster finds more employees are reporting toxic workplaces and they don’t feel their employers are willing to help.
According to Monster’s 2025 Mental Health in the Workplace survey of more than 11-hundred U.S. workers, 80% say they now work in a toxic environment. That’s a big jump from last year’s 67%.
- What’s worse, at least from a medical care perspective, is that 93% say their employer isn’t doing enough to support their mental health, up from 78% last year.
- This could be why more than half (57%) say they’d rather quit than stay in a toxic workplace.
- Overall, 71% of workers describe their mental health at work as “poor” (40%) or “fair” (29%), and only 29% rate it “good” (20%) or “great” (9%).
- Toxic work culture is the biggest cause of their poor mental health at work (59%), followed by a bad manager (54%), lack of growth opportunities (47%), increased workload (47%), and staffing shortages (33%).
- To protect their mental health, 43% would pass on a promotion, 33% would turn down a raise, and 29% would change roles and take a pay cut.
- About a quarter (23%) would work weekends and 14% would give up vacation days for a year to escape toxicity.
- Another 63% say they’d prioritize their mental well-being over having a “brag-worthy” job.
- Half (51%) say their well-being would get a boost if their employers removed toxic workers.
- Half of the small percentage of respondents who do feel their managers are supporting their mental health say this comes in the form of getting time off for doctors or therapy appointments.
- Fortunately, 23% report that their employer has positive mental health policies in place.
Source: Inc
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