Mental Health Issues Still Affecting Workforce

According to Mental Health America, around 1/3 of adults with mental illness are not receiving necessary treatment.

While the focus on mental health was at its height during the pandemic, the issue has not gone away.  Companies in logistics and supply chain management are feeling the effect on workforce performance of employees struggling with mental health issues.

To understand the scope the issue, Mental Health America annually assesses the state of mental health in the U.S. This year's report found the following: 

• In 2019-2020, 20.78% of adults were experiencing a mental illness. This is equivalent to over 50 million Americans.
• Millions of adults in the U.S. experience serious thoughts of suicide, with the highest rate among multiracial individuals. The percentage of adults reporting serious thoughts of suicide is 4.84%, totaling over 12.1 million individuals. 11% of adults who identified with two or more races reported serious thoughts of suicide in 2020 – 6% higher than the average among all adults.
• Over half (54.7%) of adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment, totaling over 28 million individuals. 
• Almost a third (28.2%) of all adults with a mental illness reported that they were not able to receive the treatment they needed. 42% of adults with a mental illness reported they were unable to receive necessary care because they could not afford it.
• 10.8% (over 5.5 million) of adults with a mental illness are uninsured. Hispanic adults with a mental illness were least likely to have health insurance, with 19% reporting they were not covered by insurance.
• In the U.S., there are an estimated 350 individuals for every one mental health provider. However, these figures may actually be an overestimate of active mental health professionals, as it may include providers who are no longer practicing or accepting new patients.
• 22.87% of adults who report experiencing 14 or more mentally unhealthy days each month were not able to see a doctor due to costs. 
• The vast majority of individuals with a substance use disorder in the U.S. are not receiving treatment. 15.35% of adults had a substance use disorder in the past year. Of them, 93.5% did not receive any form of treatment.

View the full report.

Written by:  MH&L Staff, for MH&L