Workplace Mental Health Action Is Stalling Despite Growing Awareness, Employer Survey Finds
A new Australian employer report based on a poll of 4,065 workers and 831 managers and leaders finds that awareness of workplace mental health has improved, but concrete action has not kept pace. Most managers expect their organisation's mental health spending to stay flat over the next year, and only about one in five expects it to rise, even though just over half consider current workloads sustainable in the long term. The report's authors point to uncertainty about how to tackle such a complex issue rather than a lack of concern, and they suggest practical steps such as giving staff more control over their work, checking regularly whether people have the resources they need, and giving managers the tools to act early.
Source: Human Resources Director (Employers Mutual Limited report, October 29, 2026)
Comparing Lives Online Linked More Closely to Teen Distress Than Idle Scrolling
A study of 4,011 teenagers at 21 schools in south-eastern Norway found that measuring oneself against others on social media was more strongly connected with signs of anxiety and low mood than simply scrolling to pass the time. Passing time out of boredom was the most common reason for being online, yet it showed only weak links with the difficulties measured, suggesting that what young people do online may matter as much as how long they spend there. Because the survey captured behaviour and symptoms at a single point in time, it cannot show whether comparison leads to distress, distress leads to more comparison, or both are shaped by other factors.
Source: Knowridge (study in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, October 29, 2026)
Fertility Treatment's Emotional Side Takes Centre Stage in New Australian Research
Researchers from the Black Dog Institute and the University of New South Wales are examining the mental health experiences of people going through fertility treatment, including their partners, ahead of World Fertility Day on November 2. A television report on the work cited a figure of about 40% of women having IVF in Australia experiencing high levels of anxiety or depression, while noting that rates vary by population and by how symptoms are measured. The research is newly announced rather than a finished trial, and its aim is to understand patients' and partners' experiences better so that accessible, evidence-based psychological support can be developed.
Source: IVFbabble (Black Dog Institute / UNSW research, reported October 26, 2026)
A new Australian employer report based on a poll of 4,065 workers and 831 managers and leaders finds that awareness of workplace mental health has improved, but concrete action has not kept pace. Most managers expect their organisation's mental health spending to stay flat over the next year, and only about one in five expects it to rise, even though just over half consider current workloads sustainable in the long term. The report's authors point to uncertainty about how to tackle such a complex issue rather than a lack of concern, and they suggest practical steps such as giving staff more control over their work, checking regularly whether people have the resources they need, and giving managers the tools to act early.
Source: Human Resources Director (Employers Mutual Limited report, October 29, 2026)
Comparing Lives Online Linked More Closely to Teen Distress Than Idle Scrolling
A study of 4,011 teenagers at 21 schools in south-eastern Norway found that measuring oneself against others on social media was more strongly connected with signs of anxiety and low mood than simply scrolling to pass the time. Passing time out of boredom was the most common reason for being online, yet it showed only weak links with the difficulties measured, suggesting that what young people do online may matter as much as how long they spend there. Because the survey captured behaviour and symptoms at a single point in time, it cannot show whether comparison leads to distress, distress leads to more comparison, or both are shaped by other factors.
Source: Knowridge (study in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, October 29, 2026)
Fertility Treatment's Emotional Side Takes Centre Stage in New Australian Research
Researchers from the Black Dog Institute and the University of New South Wales are examining the mental health experiences of people going through fertility treatment, including their partners, ahead of World Fertility Day on November 2. A television report on the work cited a figure of about 40% of women having IVF in Australia experiencing high levels of anxiety or depression, while noting that rates vary by population and by how symptoms are measured. The research is newly announced rather than a finished trial, and its aim is to understand patients' and partners' experiences better so that accessible, evidence-based psychological support can be developed.
Source: IVFbabble (Black Dog Institute / UNSW research, reported October 26, 2026)