Our professional careers often shape our identities, our self worth and our sense of living, however, not all jobs are created equal when it comes to mental well-being. A new study, collecting data over a span of 5 years for over half a million workers has revealed a rather troubled reality: certain professions are linked to disproportionately higher rates of mental distress and depression than others. These findings have sent ripples through the medical and professional communities, and are urging employers to rethink and reassess how they are supporting employee mental health.

According to a report from the New York Post, at the top of the list are social service and community professionals, those who are responsible for helping others for a living but often find their own emotional bandwidth stretched and exhausted. Following these professions closely are workers in the food preparation and service sector, healthcare support, arts and entertainment, retail and education. Along with this, media professionals are also grappling with increased levels of emotional fatigue, and so are librarians and academic staff.

What is interesting to note here is that the mining and construction industries are reportedly coming in with lowest rates of diagnosed depression. But experts have also warned against drawing easy conclusions as these industries also bring in the highest suicide rates among adult workers. The disparity may also come from underreporting or complete reluctance to seek any kind of help, and this is more so in male-dominated, physically demanding sectors where there is still a stigma surrounding mental health. Along with this, geographic isolation and limited access to services in remote work environments could also be contributing factors.

Mental health advocates and experts have said that these statistics are not just data collected overtime, they are here to push you to bring in the action and do the right thing. Employers can develop tailored mental wellness programs to meet specific challenges in each workforce segment. The one-size-fits-all approach may have to take a backseat call to action