A new study shows almost half of respondents have left a job due to an employer’s poor mental health environment.

SuperFriend, a non-profit mental health foundation backed by insurers, interviewed more than 1000 workers, managers and business owners about mental health issues in the workplace.

Responses were measured against 38 characteristics of a mentally healthy workplace, including flexible working hours, access to external support services, accessible managers and internal counselling services.

Between 2015 and the latest study, positive responses on the flexible working hours characteristic fell from 39% to 34%. There was a 5-10 percentage point decline in positive responses across all characteristics.

The biggest drop was in “managers giving clear guidance on priorities and what is expected of employees”.

SuperFriend CEO Margo Lydon says employers can reap productivity, talent-retention and long-term cost benefits from improving conditions in their workplaces.

“Three in four employees surveyed believe their company is more likely to recruit and retain the best talent by adopting mental health practices and initiatives,” she said.

“When you compound this with the increased productivity of mentally healthy workers, the reduced numbers of workers’ compensation claims and fewer absences, it is obvious that mental health is a worthwhile investment.”

Ms Lydon says improving mental health awareness and care in the workplace is a “work in progress”.

“Employers are more likely to invest in intervention rather than prevention.

“There needs to be a shift in this mentality if companies are going succeed in creating healthier environments for their employees.”

Only 12% of employers conduct mental health audits, down by five points from 2015, the survey shows. About 12% offer mental health wellbeing programs.

Only 14% of respondents say their employers have return-to-work policies for mental illness, down six points. About 18% have return-to-work policies for physical illness.