Business Edge If your job is driving you crazy, you’re probably in middle management.

A survey of 16 Canadian CEOs found leaders saying that the people at the top should assume responsibility for reducing problem stress at work and eliminating the stigma of mental illness in the workplace.

Not doing so will hinder companies’ ability to recruit and retain the people they need to remain competitive.

The survey was commissioned by the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, sponsored by BMO Financial Group and carried out by GPC Research. GPC conducted 16 one-on-one interviews by telephone among CEOs of some of the best-known and largest companies in Canada.

The CEO survey says middle managers – working under constant pressure from above and below – are likely to be the most vulnerable to these conditions. “The survey puts employee mental health squarely on the agenda of CEOs,” says Rose Patten, senior executive vice-president of human resources at BMO Financial Group. That is an important step forward for promoting wider understanding of the issues and care alternatives for those suffering from these disorders.” GPC Research says CEOs participating in the survey cited five principal threats to employee mental health: n Job insecurity driven by fears of job loss and skills obsolescence.

n Pressures to balance work and home obligations.

n Increasingly complex work environments where job definitions and expectations are in a constant state of flux.

n Employees being required to do more with “fewer and fewer resources.” n The effect of wireless and e-mails now compelling employees to live and work in a perceived 24-hour workday.

CEOs say their own peers must develop “a desire and commitment to maintain good mental health among employees in their organizations.” The survey is part of the roundtable’s Business Years for Mental Health campaign called Corporate Leadership in Mental Health: From Awareness to Action.

Two weeks ago, the roundtable released a slate of guidelines on mental health and safety for corporate boards of directors with the support of a number of senior Canadian board chairs and CEOs.