The 2024 edition of our landmark mental health survey for behind the scenes workers
Over 4,300 film, TV, and cinema workers responded to the 2024 Looking Glass survey. The results paint a bleak picture of the state of mental health and wellbeing in the industry, with self-ratings of mental health at their lowest level across the five-year history of the research.
The insights also highlight an increase in the number of people looking to leave the industry due to poor mental health.
The findings nevertheless show some signs of positive change, with targeted interventions over the last five years to improve working practices and culture beginning to move the needle in a positive direction in certain areas.
The survey was carried out amid a sustained production downturn in the industry, contributing to an increase in worklessness, job insecurity and heightened financial worries – all evidenced in the report.
There are, however, deep-rooted issues in the industry’s conditions, culture, and support capabilities that contribute to the poor state of mental health in the industry, and these are called out in the report.
The following data visualisations provide a closer look at some of the most pressing issues revealed by the survey. They offer a visual representation of industry trends affecting mental health and wellbeing, highlighting key concerns and areas of improvement.
Other key findings
64% are considering leaving the industry due to concerns about mental health
32% having taken first steps to do so
30% reporting having thoughts of taking their own life in the past 12 months
30% often felt lonely, up from 24% in 2022 and way above a national average of 8%
63% said their work in film and TV has a negative effect on their mental health
The report also highlights that certain groups within the industry face an even higher risk of poor mental health, including:
Freelancers
Disabled workers
Neurodivergent workers
LGBTQ+ individuals
Carers
People from the Black and Global Majority
Women
Younger workers
How targeted interventions are making a difference
For the first time we asked if respondents had accessed the Charity’s services. Across nearly all indicators there was a clear correlation between using our services and better mental health outcomes.
This was clearly seen among respondents who had used the Charity’s Whole Picture Toolkit, our free online resource to improve mental health on productions:
Only 12% of respondentsfelt that the industry is a mentally healthy place to work. This number rose to 25% among respondents who had worked on a production using the Whole Picture Toolkit
35%described their mental health as 'poor' or 'very poor', up from 24% in 2022. This number dropped to 23% among those who had worked on productions using the Whole Picture Toolkit
A call for urgent action
The results of the 2024 Looking Glass Survey underline that the industry has to go much further to address urgent, persistent issues relating to mental health in our industry
Marcus Ryder, CEO at the Film and TV Charity
Ryder added “We should also recognise that culture change takes time, and acknowledge that, for example with issues such as bullying, where the entire industry has recognised that there is a problem that needs to be addressed, we have seen the dial shift in a positive direction.”
The full report provides a breakdown of these findings, along with further comment from our CEO, Marcus Ryder.
Download the full report
Download the full report for a deeper look at these critical findings.
The results of the 2024 Looking Glass Survey underline that the industry has to go much further to address urgent, persistent issues relating to mental health in our industryMarcus Ryder, CEO at the Film and TV Charity