Since the first half of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted workers in different sectors with layoffs, workplace changes and salary reductions.
To map the effects of this scenario among Brazilian entrepreneurs, Troposlab, a company specializing in innovation, in partnership with UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais), carried out, for the second consecutive year, a study on the mental health of people working in this sector.
The survey reveals that 30.13% of respondents started psychological counseling during the health crisis. In addition, 53.5% of participants said they had been diagnosed with anxiety, and 11.22% with depression — the assessments were carried out by specialized professionals. The survey included the participation of 312 entrepreneurs from various states in the country.
When compared to the study carried out last year, it was possible to notice that, proportionally, there was a greater number of people who started using psychiatric drugs in 2021 – 26% this year, while 16% claimed to take this type of medication in 2020. The current The research edition also shows that the beginning of the use of anxiolytics among entrepreneurs jumped from 6% to 10%, and antidepressants from 3% to 8%, in relation to the previous year.
According to Marina Mendonça, partner and director of culture at Troposlab, there is a significant connection between the psychological suffering and the drop in income of entrepreneurs. “Overall, it is possible to observe that entrepreneurs who report a drop in income are also classified more frequently with moderate and severe symptoms of anxiety or depression. Regarding stress, people who respond that they had a drop in income also have more severe symptoms”, he says.
The study also noted that, last year, 51.1% of entrepreneurs had their lives affected by the pandemic, but that they felt good most of the time, while 24.9% of entrepreneurs said they were very affected. In 2021, 53.31% of respondents feel they were affected and 21.49% very affected. This demonstrates that there are no significant differences between periods.
As for the general perception of participants about the pandemic, most say they consider the environment more uncertain (73.72%), but the rates for 2021 are a little lower than those for 2020. On the other hand, 77.89% claim to have skills to deal with the challenges posed by the health crisis, a statement that remains similar to last year’s data
The results continue to show that women have a higher intensity of severe symptoms for anxiety (12.50%), when compared to men (2.84%), stress (7.35% against 1.13%) and also a higher prevalence of depression (6.61% against 2.84%).
“Our goal is to learn about the entrepreneur. We noticed gaps in knowledge about how he develops, his personality, mental health and other elements that impact his choices and performance in the projects undertaken. In our view, generating knowledge about these elements can help us build a more sustainable business environment”, says Mendonça.
“This survey is one of our efforts and deliveries for this ecosystem. So that it can bring us closer to partners and bring about new initiatives that bear fruit for science in Brazil and for the healthy development of our business and innovation environment”.
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