Some 30 percent of workers in Saudi Arabia strongly feel that their workplace is not psychologically safe and healthy, according to a new survey. Research company Ipsos asked a total of 14,618 employees in 24 countries to rate on a scale of 1 to 10, (where 1 means strongly disagree and 10 means strongly agree) how strongly they agree or disagree with the statement: “Overall, my current workplace is a psychologically safe and healthy environment to work in.” Some 30 percent of workers in Saudi Arabia strongly disagreed with the above statement on a scale of 1 to 4, while 25 percent of workers in the Kingdom disagreed somewhat on a scale of 5-6. Whether it is due to stress, interpersonal conflict, frustration, lack of feedback or promotion, 27 percent of workers in 24 countries said they are not happy with the psychological aspects of their work environment, the survey showed. “Employers need to pay attention to their employees' mental health, not just their physical health,” said Alexandra Evershed, senior vice president, Ipsos Public Affairs. “Three in 10 is still a fairly large proportion and that goes up to 44 percent and 43 percent in Argentina and Mexico and 42 percent in Hungary.” Although many North Americans have fewer holidays than Europeans and may work longer hours and enjoy fewer social services, Americans and Canadians had the highest marks for positively assessing the mental health of their workplace, followed by workers in India, Australia, Great Britain and South Africa. Evershed suggested that the improving economies in some countries could have played a part in the positive assessment among employees. “It's better than it was,” she said in an interview. “India, China, Brazil, South Africa, these are countries where the economic picture has been brightening.” Older workers over 50 with a good household income who have completed a higher level of education were the most satisfied with their workplace.
