“Help Workers with stress, Employers told”

Letter to Editor
STAR PUBLICATION


I refer to a report in the STAR under the caption “Help Workers with stress, Employers told” which quoted the Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr. Ng Yen Yen calling on private sector companies to make available in-house counsellors to help their employees deal with stress and other mental health issues.

Mental health issues at the workplace should be given due attention as the productivity of the staff of any organization depends on their mental health.

Employers must be aware that the neglect of mental health and psychosocial factors at the workplaces is not only detrimental to the individual worker but also affects productivity, efficiency and output of any organisation.

Work performance, frequent illness, absenteeism, accidents and staff turnover are all linked to employees’ mental health.

No workplace is immune to mental disorders and their impact in psychological, social and economic terms is high. Mental health should no longer be ignored, on the contrary it should be given adequate attention in relation to other business in any organization.

Mental health problems, especially stress-related ones among Malaysians are a matter of serious concern and need to be addressed urgently at the workplace so that problems like depression, mental illness and psychiatric disorders can be avoided.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is of the view that urgent steps need to be taken to address mental and health issues at workplaces involving employers, employees and the relevant authorities.

In this connection the government should introduce guidelines for promoting mental health at workplaces in order to contribute towards a healthier and productive workforce both mentally and physically.

Employers should use safety and health committees at the workplace to examine and identify the problems relating to the promotion of mental health care at workplaces and formulate a fundamental programme to address these problems.

An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which can provide both prevention and early intervention for employees affected by stress, emotional and mental health issues which jeopardize job performance should be introduced at workplaces.

Funds expended on EAPs have documented investment returns in such areas as productivity and work performance. Companies are finding that investing in employee’ emotional well-being can mean a healthier bottom line.

Mental Health education and promotion, which aims to address the rise of psychosocial problems in our society, is most essential in view of our aspiration to achieve developed nation status which obviously will exert tremendous pressure to deal with our daily responsibilities which could lead to stressful predicaments.

Psychiatric disorders and other forms of mental illness are tragic reminders of another side of life which must not be overlooked in our quest to become a fully industrialized nation.

Although a 1996 national health study found mental illness to be prevalent in about 10.7 % of the population, the facts seem to indicate a surge in mental illness which are the manifestations of the ill effects of urbanization, stress and poor mental health. We cannot be unconcerned over the increasing spate of incidents involving the mentally ill or those suffering from mental disorders.

The impact of mental illness on the family and the society is enormous in terms of loss of productivity, legal problems and economic costs. Direct costs of mental disorders are high but indirect costs are estimated to be much higher than the direct costs to society. Mental disorders also impact on the quality of life in communities which has a direct bearing on society.

In previous years mental health has been a topic of low priority for the government and the community as compared to other health problems. But increasingly as reflected worldwide, mental health has gained more prominence.

In Malaysia we need to do more for those who suffer from mental illness. On the welfare services front, the government should include the mentally ill as disabled persons and brought under the category of ‘orang kurang upaya’ or disabled persons and they should be accorded opportunities in employment to help them return to the mainstream and not be a burden to society.