Looking Glass ’22 Report

The most recent edition of our landmark study of mental health and wellbeing among the industry workforce

A camera operator is standing in a dimly lit studio space. There is a light shining from behind them which is silhouetting them.

The results of the 2022 Looking Glass Survey

Nearly 2,000 of you responded to 2022’s Looking Glass Survey, the third since 2019 when the Film and TV Charity uncovered a mental health emergency in the UK film and TV sector. That survey’s shocking statistics drew industry-wide attention to problems you were already keenly aware of, with poor mental health, bullying, harassment, discrimination and extreme working conditions creating a perfect storm over the wellbeing of our workforce.

The follow-up to the 2019 survey, published in 2021, showed that the situation hadn’t worsened, even in the face of challenges like the Covid-19 pandemic, with some small improvements indicating that perhaps the tide was beginning to turn, and that the industry was starting to listen to the people who power it.

So what about Looking Glass ’22?

Following the first two surveys, this third edition began to paint a picture of change. The improvements were small, but the positive shifts are significant in showing that ours is an industry that has the potential to look after the mental health and wellbeing of its workers.

Download the full Looking Glass ’22 report PDF | 344.909 KB | English

Key statistics

One key statistic coming out of Looking Glass ’22 is that 80% of respondents sensed a positive change in the industry’s capability to support. That’s not the same as saying the problems have been solved, and with only 11% describing the industry as a mentally healthy place to work we cannot afford to be complacent about the amount of work there is still to be done.

80% of respondents sensed a positive change in the industry’s capability to support.

11% described the industry as a mentally healthy place to work.

In the future, we will repeat the Looking Glass Survey every two years so we can continue to track change. The next survey will be conducted in 2024.

We would like to thank the industry leaders who have worked so closely with us, taking part in sometimes difficult conversations and grasping the role they can play to make improvements in their own organisations, in order to drive positive change elsewhere.

The research behind Looking Glass ’22 was conducted by our partners at Bright Purpose, the organisation who also carried out a full evaluation of the two-year Whole Picture Programme. This programme was developed in response to the findings from the very first Looking Glass survey, in 2019. The Whole Picture Programme piloted and launched several interventions and means of support, including the Bullying Advice Service and the Whole Picture Toolkit for Mentally Healthy Productions.