OTTAWA - Job-related stresses in federal workplaces are in decline, a new report suggests, raising doubts about the so-called "toxic" work environment in the public sector.
A six-year survey of 65 federal departments and agencies has found that fewer employees are seeking counselling for work-related issues, though more of them are citing mental health and family problems.
The report, distributed internally last month, calculated how often public servants use so-called employee assistance programs or EAPs, and what kind of complaints are raised during a first visit to a workplace counsellor.
The survey found that fewer workers are seeking any counselling - about eight per cent of the workforce in 2006-07, down from more than 10 per cent six years earlier.
And of those who do seek help, only 22 per cent complain about a work-related issue, down about eight percentage points.
"Work-related issues are on the decline," says the report. "Family and mental health issues are on the rise."
A mental-health expert recently called Canada's public sector a "toxic place to work" as more employees become stressed, burned out and depressed.
"We are seeing absences, disability rates and illness among public sector organizations that beg a national evaluation of what it is about these workplaces that creates such high levels of distress," Bill Wilkerson, chair of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, said in a media report last month.
But the new survey, obtained under the Access to Information Act from the Canada Public Service Agency, found that family problems top the list of complaints, at 37 per cent in 2006-07. That's up by seven points from six years earlier.
Mental-health problems are at No. 2 -- 28 per cent, up three points. Drug and alcohol problems are far down the list, stable at about two per cent.
The statistics were drawn from a wide range of departments, employing several hundred thousand workers, including giants such as National Defence and Public Works. The report does not provide further detail about the issues raised, such as levels of depression or the kinds of job issues cited.
A spokeswoman for the Canada Public Service Agency declined to comment on the trends.
"The data provided is statistical," Helene-Annie Lavoie said in an e-mail. "It is therefore not possible to come to any conclusions on the reasons behind the findings.
"These results allow the agency to compare the data from previous years but no qualitative analysis can be performed."
An expert on employee assistance programs said the results should be treated with caution because there are no industry standards for compiling statistics.
"EAP is a practice area more than a profession," said Rick Csiernik, a professor of social work at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont.
Csiernik noted, however, that the majority of the departments surveyed contract their counselling services to outside providers, which can lead to lower rates of use when compared with in-house counselling.
That's because it's harder to pick up a telephone to ask an outsider for help than it is to talk to a full-time, in-house nurse or counsellor when problems arise, he said.
External services "have been sold as being cheaper, as more cost-effective. As in many things, cheaper is not always better."
Csiernik also said counselling services must be regularly promoted within an organization or usage rates will decline.
He noted that the rise in mental-health problems likely reflects changes in attitudes, as more people become willing to speak up about their depression or similar struggles. But without more detailed information about services in the 65 departments and agencies, it's not possible to say why overall rates are in decline or why job-related issues are being cited less often.
"There are more questions raised than answered by this report," said Csiernik.
