A third of Hong Kong workers go through mental health problems during employment

The impact is largely seen in junior employees who have just jumpstarted on their careers.

Three in 10 (35%) of professional workers in Hong Kong admitted that they have faced mental health problems at some point in their life during employment, a study by Olivery Wyman in partnership with the City Mental Health Alliance Hong Kong revealed.

The findings also pointed out that 25% of respondents went through mental health problems during their stay at their current employees. Despite their situation, 7 in 10 respondents said that they still continued to go to work despite their mental health issues citing sense of duty, unwillingness to discuss their weakness, and because they are required to be physically present at work.

"The impact is particularly striking for junior employees early in their career, and without proper remediation, this could lead to a deteriorating work-life balance, and may result in employees feeling trapped in a cycle of feeling depressed, restless and mentally drained," the study noted.

More than half (66%) of the respondents said that knowledge gap hindered them to open up about their condition as they have never received any education or information related to mental health problems. Meanwhile, only 10% of those who previously experienced certain mental health problems indicated that their firms had sufficient resources to support their well being.

Moreover, the study also revealed that only 3 in 10 workers open up to someone at work which could be attributable to the stigma connected to mental health problems.