Employers face 65 lost workdays per staff as mental health strains productivity

Financial strain and culture gaps also deepen workforce risk across firms.

Singapore employers face productivity losses of up to 65.2 days per worker each year as weak workplace support and financial strain weigh on employee mental health, according to the latest TELUS Mental Health Index.

Across the workforce, 37% of respondents were classified as high mental health risk, 45% as moderate risk, and 17% as low risk. The survey also found 26% of workers were considering leaving their jobs.

The report found Singapore’s national mental health score remained at 62.0, whilst work productivity (53.0) and anxiety (53.4) have remained the weakest measures for nearly four years.

It said 41% of workers reported that their mental health was affecting their productivity and work goals, up two percentage points from the previous reporting period.

Workplace culture emerged as a key differentiator in outcomes. Workers who described their organisation’s culture as supportive of wellbeing recorded a mental health score of 66.2, compared with 50.4 amongst those who did not.

The group reporting unsupportive cultures was associated with losses of up to 65.2 productivity days per year.

“These scores should matter to any employer, because when people’s mental health declines, their productivity declines with it,” said Haider Amir, Director Asia at TELUS Health. “The workers who tell us they want better mental health support lose 48.6 working days a year due to reduced productivity.”

Financial pressure was another major factor affecting wellbeing, with 23% of workers stating they did not have emergency savings to cover basic needs, recording a mental health score of 47.7, compared with 66.4 amongst those with savings.

More than half of respondents (54%) cited cost or affordability as a barrier to accessing mental health support, and this group scored 20 points lower on the index than those reporting no barriers.

“The gap in wellbeing scores between those with a financial safety net and those without is a wake-up call,” Amir said.

Younger workers recorded significantly lower wellbeing scores than older cohorts. Employees aged 20 to 29 had the lowest mental health score at 55.4, whilst those aged 60 to 69 recorded the highest at 72.4.

Workers under 40 were nearly twice as likely as those over 50 to want additional mental health support from their employers.

In terms of artificial intelligence (AI), three-quarters of workers (76%) said they use AI tools at least several times a month, and 75% of those users reported improved efficiency.

Workers whose employers encouraged AI use recorded a mental health score of 63.7, compared with 52.2 amongst those whose employers discouraged AI adoption.

Sixty-one percent said their employer encouraged AI use, whilst 3% said it was actively discouraged.

The findings are based on an online survey of 1,000 employed or recently employed people in Singapore, conducted between 25 February and 9 March 2026.