More than half of Canadian parents say their children are still suffering from the "negative effects" of the pandemic, more than two years after COVID-19 disrupted life worldwide.

According to the monthly LifeWorks Mental Health Index, released on Wednesday, 56 percent of parents notice that their children's mental health and development are worsening.

Stephen Liptrap, President and CEO of LifeWorks, said, "When it comes to pandemic disruption and isolation, children's mental health has been significantly affected.

It is understood that this has a major impact on parents and families as a result."

The report found that 27% of parents noticed their children have anxiety about the future, 24% noticed a decline in social development, and 23% mentioned a decline in academic development.

Only 39 percent of Canadian parents reported no significant impact on their children post-pandemic.

This group also enjoyed "the most favorable mental health," rating their mental health score seven points higher than the national average of 65.

According to the report, anxiety levels among children aged 15 or older are higher than the Canadian national average, and children aged 10 to 14 suffer the worst effects on their mental health.

The report found that the impact on social development was more widespread, with parents of children aged two to 18 reporting harmful effects.

The report also stated that a similar percentage of children aged 6 to 18 suffer negative effects on their academic development.

Liptrap said, "As organizations study the support provided for employee wellbeing, focusing on the needs of parents and employee and family assistance programs is critical." "These resources are essential to ensure employees and their families thrive, which benefits those families, employers, and society as a whole.

" Other findings The report also looked at the pandemic's effects on Canadian purchasing and investment decisions, finding that how a company or brand treats its employees is considered more important than how the company treats the environment. Thirty-three percent of Canadians are influenced by how a company treats its employees, compared to 13 percent of those influenced by how the company behaves environmentally.

In a statement, Paula Allen, Leader and Senior Vice President of Research and Total Wellbeing at LifeWorks, said: "We are concerned about the impact of institutions on the environment, but many organizations underestimate the importance of their impact on employees to customers and investors."

"The link between institutional support for employee wellbeing and organizational productivity, innovation, and customer service is very clear, as is now the link to consumer purchasing and investment preferences."

The LifeWorks overall Mental Health Index for July 2022 improved by about one point from the previous month, from 64.1 to 65 out of 100 points.

LifeWorks also reported that there was improvement in all mental health sub-scores since June.

Sub-scores include pre-pandemic benchmark comparisons such as financial risks, psychological health, isolation, work productivity, anxiety, depression, and optimism.

According to the report, mental health scores decreased in British Columbia, Alberta, and the Maritimes, although improvement occurred in all other provinces.

Quebec showed the highest improvement. The latest monthly LifeWorks index is based on an English and French online survey with 3,000 responses collected between July 7 and 13, 2022.

All respondents reside in Canada and are currently employed or have been employed within the past six months, according to the index.

The human resources company, formerly known as Morneau Shepell, says individual responses are converted into point values using a response scoring system to produce the mental health index.