Survey: More US Employees Feel Empowered to Discuss Well-Being Issues With Employers

Work-Life Flexibility Is Important, but Return to Office Is a Stressor

A new survey shows that the number of American workers today who feel safe in disclosing to colleagues the state of their physical or mental well-being is up considerably compared to levels a year ago.

That number, which translates to 78%, is nearly double the 40% rate logged in October 2020, according to the survey commissioned by digital CX provider Telus International and conducted by mobile monetization platform Pollfish. The survey also notes that employees consider work-life flexibility an important factor impacting mental health.

With the COVID-19 pandemic giving rise to significant stressors and exerting an emotional toll on people, disruption has entered into daily routines, including those affecting workplaces, noted Marilyn Tyfting, chief corporate officer of Telus International. “The result has been a much-needed shift in the past year from a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ attitude to a ‘do ask, do tell, and let’s talk’ mindset that has transformed the way society perceives and discusses mental health, both more generally and in the context of the workplace.”

Because of these new dynamics, employees are increasingly asking for resources to help them cope with mental health challenges. For their part, companies are responding by enhancing the breadth and scope of programs and services they provide, as well as making them more accessible, Tyfting added.

The pandemic has also altered the way employees approach the work-life-balance equation. Nearly 90% of the respondents in the survey believe it is important for a company to prioritize the mental health of its employees, and 86% said that flexibility in work hours contributes to more robust mental health.

More workers are also feeling supported by their employers, the survey noted. Nearly 70% said their employers allowed greater flexibility in employee working hours to maintain physical and mental health, and that employers have also provided more mental health days and extra paid time off to combat burnout while working from home.

The idea of returning to the office for work is a new stressor, but employers can help relieve stress and ease a return to the office by doing three things: offer flexible work schedules, provide enhanced office cleaning and implement physical distancing protocols, and issue a vaccine or testing mandate. “Employers need to understand that their employees today are not the same people who left their offices in March 2020, and that now is not the time to pump the brakes on mental health initiatives,” Tyfting said. “Prioritizing employee health, safety, and well-being will continue to be of paramount importance not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it leads to improved company performance.”

Author Information

Alex is responsible for writing about trends and changes that are impacting the customer experience market. He had served as Principal Editor at Village Intelligence, a Los Angeles-based consultancy on technology impacting healthcare and healthcare-related industries. Alex was also Associate Director for Content Management at Omdia and Informa Tech, where he produced white papers, executive summaries, market insights, blogs, and other key content assets. His areas of coverage spanned the sectors grouped under the technology vertical, including semiconductors, smart technologies, enterprise & IT, media, displays, mobile, power, healthcare, China research, industrial and IoT, automotive, and transformative technologies.

At IHS Markit, he was Managing Editor of the company’s flagship IHS Quarterly, covering aerospace & defense, economics & country risk, chemicals, oil & gas, and other IHS verticals. He was Principal Editor of analyst output at iSuppli Corp. and Managing Editor of Market Watch, a fortnightly newsletter highlighting significant analyst report findings for pitching to the media. He started his career in writing as an Editor-Reporter for The Associated Press.

SHARE:

Latest Insights:

Enhancements to the Pega Platform, Pega Blueprint, and AI Agents Are Also Designed To Help Organizations Modernize and Streamline Their Stack and Enable CX, Productivity, and Efficiency Gains Now and in the Future
Keith Kirkpatrick, Research Director with Futurum, shares his insights on the news from PegaWorld ‘25 and discusses the potential impact for other platform vendors operating in the market.
Snowflake’s $250 Million Crunchy Data Deal Intensifies Competition With Databricks and Others as the Company Seeks to Power Up Enterprise AI Through Postgres Cloud Innovation
Brad Shimmin, Vice President & Practice Lead, Data and Analytics at Futurum shares his/her insights on Snowflake’s acquisition of Crunchy. Discover how Snowflake’s $250 million Crunchy Data acquisition is set to reshape the AI data platform landscape and intensify the battle for enterprise cloud leadership.
Strong AI Demand and Growth in Electro-Optics and Custom Silicon Drive 63% YoY Revenue Surge
Olivier Blanchard, Research Director at Futurum, unpacks Marvell’s Q1 FY 2026 results, where strong AI demand, custom silicon ramp, and electro-optics gains fuel data center momentum amid cautious sentiment on margin delivery.

Latest Research:

In our latest market brief, Modern Data Protection for Modern Threats: A Strategic Blueprint for Cyber Resilience, written in collaboration with Quantum, Futurum outlines how IT leaders can move beyond reactive data protection toward proactive recovery-readiness by implementing a multi-tiered and performance-optimized cyber resilience architecture.
In our latest Market Brief, Building Optimal Cyber Resilience with All-Flash Protection Infrastructure, developed in partnership with Dell Technologies, The Futurum Group explores how next-gen data protection infrastructure can safeguard critical workloads and support rapid recovery, with a focus on Dell’s PowerProtect Data Domain All-Flash appliance.
In our latest Research Brief, Oracle Database@Azure: The Genesis of Oracle’s Multi-Cloud Leadership, completed in partnership with Oracle, The Futurum Group explores how enterprises can simplify migration, reduce costs, and modernize operations while gaining a competitive edge in AI-driven application development.