Mental Health and Work in Utah

mental health and work in Utah and Region 8

While physical well-being might be the first part of worker health and occupational safety that come to mind for most people, mental health is also a critical part of labor and employment. Workers need and deserve good mental health that isn’t adversely impacted by their workplaces, working conditions, or pay rates. Improving mental health also benefits employers, since individuals who don't dread going to work or experience mental ill-health as a result of their jobs tend to be better, more productive workers.

Global organizations like the WHO and national organizations like the U.S. Department of Labor have begun taking steps to recognize that mental health and work affect each other in these ways. For example, the WHO has recently shown that decent work can stabilize mental health by providing people with a livelihood, purpose, opportunities, and structure.1 However, poor working conditions (including uncertain hours, poor pay, and dangerous conditions, and more) can also harm mental health as well as physical health.2

Meanwhile, here in the US, the Surgeon General recently highlighted the link between common work issues to both mental health crises as well as labor issues like the workforce shortage.3 Elsewhere, the U.S. Department of Labor categorizes disability, overt stress, and fatigue as different kinds of mental health that can be affected by work, or sometimes even caused by it.4 While young workers are not the only ones affected by these issues, agency resources for this population are among the more comprehensive offerings, and may include crisis services, health screenings, and mental health resources.5 Organizations and agencies are also dedicated to this topic, including the APA’s Center for Workplace Mental Health.6

This topic in Utah

Much as is the case on the global and national levels, mental health and work are a growing conversation in Utah. That is, the connections between the two are important, but the general awareness of this fact is still developing and spreading. The Utah Department of Health and Human Services has observed a unique combination of factors in Utah, including isolation, high rates of mental health conditions, and other stressors: 

"Nearly 3 million Utahns live in an area with insufficient mental health professionals, yet Utahns experience higher-than-average rates of suicide and depression. Isolation from teleworking can increase feelings of loneliness. Additionally, financial stress, including student loan debt, is a significant risk factor for depression, anxiety, and mental health concerns."7

This speaks to an urgent and growing need to be aware of how mental health impacts work. Investing in mental health resource for the workforce can certainly also help businesses themselves.8  Utah has been taking steps to address its shortage of healthcare providers serving rural areas, such as through its Area Health Education Centers.9 Local organizations such as Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) partner with AHEC to provide outreach, recruitment, and training for students who will become rural healthcare providers.10

In Utah, mental health resources pertaining to work include: 

Other research conducted in Utah suggests that training supervisors to spot signs of adverse mental health and providing mental health care as a job benefit would be important strategies to address these issues.11

This topic in Region 8 

The federal office SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) divides the US into ten regions. States are grouped into regions because they often have similar target populations or communities with similar interests. Utah is part of Region 8, which also includes the states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.12  In terms of mental health, Region 8 faces some distinct and unique challenges. 

For one thing, mental health professionals in Region 8 may be serving very rural or remote areas.12 It follows, therefore, that is not that mental ill-health is more prevalent among people in Region 8: it is that mental health services are available to a different degree. The accessibility, availability, affordability, and acceptability of mental health services are often different for rural populations than their urban peers.13 Rural residents may have to travel further, pay out of pocket, and have less access to mental health care than those who live in close proximity to resources. Likewise, providers may only be available on certain days as they travel among communities providing care. Rural culture is also thought to play a role in decreased access to mental health. For instance, “self-reliance” is an important belief in many communities in the rural West, and admitting to mental health concerns or seeking mental health care can be seen as a sign of weakness or failure.14 This stigma can then lead to discrimination within the community if help is sought. 

Research has pointed out the “dimensions” in these disparities.15 In other words, it isn’t just the shortages of healthcare providers, the distance one must travel, the limitations on accessing care, or the possibly stigmas against mental health care within a community. Instead, a person can experience all of these things at once, and sometimes worse if they already belong to a marginalized category in terms of race, sex, gender, or sexual orientation. 

SAMHSA conducts an annual report for each region called the Behavioral Health Barometer, which is used to measure topics such as substance use, substance abuse, and mental health concerns among populations in that region. The 2021-2022 Behavioral Health Barometer for Region 8 showed slightly-above-national-average occurrence of major depressive episodes among people ages 12-17 and higher-than-national-average occurrences of the same among people over 18 years of age.16 Similarly, states from Region 8 are among the most highly ranked for poor mental health, as reported by Mental Health America.17 

How does this tie into the workplace? Many economies in Region 8 are tied to natural resources or to tourism, and both of these industries are dependent on factors such as the weather, transportation, and market demand, which are far outside workers’ control or ability to predict. So, during circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic when demand falls sharply, workers are vulnerable to losing their jobs entirely because remote work simply isn’t possible.18 Mental health at work should be an ongoing concern nationwide, but Region 8 in particular may need attention and resources designed to improve mental health across the population.

  • 1.    World Health Organization (WHO). 2022. “Mental Health at Work.” WHO.int, September 28, 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-at-work
    2.    ibid. 
    3.    Novotney, A. 2023. “Why mental health needs to be a top priority in the workplace.” American Psychological Association (APA), APA.org, April 21, 2023. https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2022/surgeon-general-workplace-well-being
    4.    U.S. Department of Labor. n.d. “Mental Health at Work.” DOL.gov. https://www.dol.gov/general/mental-health-at-work
    5.    Bailey, A. 2022. “Youth Mental Health Resource Guide.” WorkforceGPS.org, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, updated February 28, 2024. https://youth.workforcegps.org/resources/2022/08/16/15/26/Youth-Mental-Health-Resource-Guide
    6.    Visit the Center at: https://workplacementalhealth.org/ 
    7.    Utah Department of Health and Human Services. n.d. “Three tips to support employee mental health.” RuralHealth.Utah.gov., State of Utah. https://ruralhealth.utah.gov/loan_repayment/three-tips-to-support-employee-mental-health/
    8.    Walkey, W. 2022. “A new study shows elevated ‘psychological distress’ in the rural West amid the ongoing pandemic.” KSUT, Four Corners Public Radio, 12 Jan. 2022. https://www.ksut.org/health-science/2022-01-12/a-new-study-shows-elevated-psychological-distress-in-the-rural-west-amid-the-ongoing-pandemic
    9.    Utah AHEC (Area Health Education Centers). n.d. “Welcome to Utah AHEC.” Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). https://utahahec.org/
    10.    Crossroads Area Health Education Center. n.d. “Home: Vision – Mission – Pipeline.” Salt Lake Community College. https://www.slcc.edu/crossroadscenter/index.aspx
    11.    Miller, D. 2021. “Want a better business? Invest in workforce mental fitness.” UtahBusiness.com, May 7, 2021. https://www.utahbusiness.com/want-a-better-business-invest-in-workforce-mental-fitness/
    12.    Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). 2024. “SAMHSA Regional Offices.” US.gov, last updated 5 May 2024. https://www.samhsa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/regional-offices
    13.    Johnson, M. 2011. “Ethics in Practice - HHS Region 8.” Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network, Mountain Plains MHTTC. https://mhttcnetwork.org/products_and_resources/ethics-in-practice-hhs-region-8/
    14.    RHIhub. 2021. “Rural Mental Health.” Rural Health Information Hub, last updated April 19, 2024. https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/mental-health
    15.    Butcher, M. 2022. “Opinion: In the rural West, ‘self-reliance’ can take a heavy toll on mental health.” The Washington Post, July 27, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/27/mental-health-care-rural-colorado/
    16.    Morales, D. A., Barksdale, C. L., & Beckel-Mitchener, A. C. (2020). A call to action to address rural mental health disparities. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 4(5), 463–467. doi:10.1017/cts.2020.42. 
    17.    Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). 2022. Behavioral Health Barometer, Region 8, Volume 7: Indicators as Measured in the 2021-2022 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (SAMHSA Publication No. PEP24-07-014). Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, SAMHSA. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt45302/2022-nsduh-barometer-region-8.pdf
    18.    Mental Health America. 2022. “Ranking the States 2022 – Adult Ranking.” Mental Health America, Inc. https://mhanational.org/issues/2022/ranking-states