TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A new survey released Wednesday (Oct. 9) reveals that 75.7% of Taiwanese citizens believe work stress negatively impacts mental health, with 93% supporting mental health leave in the workplace. The findings indicate that 84.4% of respondents feel work affects their sleep, and 77.3% say work stress impacts their interpersonal relationships.
Also, 31.9% engage in unhealthy behaviors due to work-related stress. The survey shows strong support for flexible working hours, with 94.6% in favor and 90.7% backing eight hours of parental leave per month. Chueh Chang (張珏), convener of the Taiwan Federation for Mental Health (台灣心理健康聯盟), urged the government to "stay ahead of the curve" by prioritizing policies like flexible working hours.
Wang Han-yang (王瀚陽), chairman of the Action Alliance on Basic Education (國教行動聯盟), emphasized that the survey results highlight the needs of Taiwanese workers facing challenges from work stress and mental health, particularly employees with children.
As the conversation around mental health in the workplace gains momentum, the survey underscores a growing demand for policy changes. The Action Alliance on Basic Education and the Taiwan Federation for Mental Health conducted the survey between Sept. 22 and 29, gathering 2,048 responses, of which 1,368 were valid.
