Approximately 67% of South Africans are in a form of employment. All employees have the right to a safe and mentally healthy work environment. This World Mental Health Day (WMHD) we join the call from The World Federation for Mental Health, recognising the need to prioritise mental health in the workplace.
Mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, are pervasive in workplaces globally, impacting productivity, attendance, and overall performance. When left untreated, the staggering economic cost is estimated at US$1 trillion annually by the WHO.’’ – Tsuyoshi Akiyama, World Federation for Mental Health President
WMHD is celebrated on 10 October annually.
In South Africa, about 13% of employees live with a diagnosed mental health condition. Over a third of working South Africans experience excessive daily stress. Globally an estimated 12 billion working days are lost each year due to anxiety and depression. Now is the time to prioritise mental health in the workplace.
This WMHD provides an opportunity for governments, organisations that represent employees and employers, employers themselves and other stakeholders who are responsible for employees’ health and safety to improve mental health in the workplace”, says Leon de Beer, Deputy Director at the South African Federation for Mental Health (SAFMH).
Actions aimed at addressing mental health in the workplace should be done while meaningfully involving employees and their representatives, along with persons with lived experiences of mental health conditions.
Mental health, the workplace and stress are three concepts that jointly come into play very often in lives of persons who are in employment, and which are highly interlinked. One of our programmes at SAFMH is organisational awareness, where we are invited by organisations across the public and private sectors to run mental health presentations and workshops with employers and employees. By far the most requested workshop is focused on mental health and stress in the workplace.
“Work related stress” is when we are faced with work pressures that do not match our knowledge and abilities and that challenge our ability to cope. Managing workplace stress is a very important part of creating a mentally healthy workplace. While stress at work is inevitable, it does not need to make employees sick, and it can be managed effectively. Some recommendations include:
- Organising regular one-to-one meetings and catchups to ask employees how they are coping. This also helps build trust and give employees a chance to raise problems at an early stage.
- Creating an organisational culture of support and connectedness and having a zero-tolerance policy for bullying and harassment
- Providing opportunities for employees to exercise control, ownership and choice in their work.
SAFMH supports the promotion and protection of mental health in all workplaces. Promoting and protecting mental health within the workplace involves strengthening the capacity to acknowledge and act on mental health conditions at work, especially for persons who are responsible for supervising others, for example managers.
By normalising mental health discussions and implementing supportive policies, companies can encourage employees to seek help without fear. This shift would not only foster healthier workplaces but also strengthen employee relationships and retention, ultimately addressing broader societal issues that affect our country.” – Scott Snowdowne, Supply Chains Systems Controller
For creating mentally healthy workplaces, the World Health Organisation and Mind UK recommend:
- Creating a culture that lets employees be open about their mental health. This includes letting staff know that being open about their mental health matters will lead to support, not discrimination and explaining that mental health will be treated in the same way as physical health.
- Developing and implementing a mental health strategy and policies so that employees experiencing mental health problems get support timeously.
- Providing training for managers to assist in recognising and responding to employees experiencing emotional distress or mental health challenges.
We also recognise that persons with lived experience of mental health conditions have a right to participate in employment fairly and fully, as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. For supporting employees with mental health conditions at work, some recommendations include:
- Providing reasonable accommodations – or workplace adjustments – to meet the needs, capacities and preferences of employees with mental health conditions. Examples include providing extra time for tasks, flexible working hours and regular supportive supervisory meetings.
- Developing an action plan whereby organisations should support managers to work with staff to develop a personal action plan to proactively manage their mental health. This allows for employees to pre-plan for a time when they’re not coping so well. An action plan could include symptoms, early warning signs and triggers, what support is need from their line manager, positive actions for the employee to take.
- Support employees return to work – sometimes an employee may be so unwell they need time off work to recover. When they are ready to return to work, managers should arrange to meet in a comfortable space to catch up and discuss the details of their return. An effective return-to-work meet, and plan is vital to support a smooth and sustainable return to work. A phased return to work could also be considered.
This WMHD we continue to advocate for mental health to be promoted and prioritised in all workplaces, ensuring employers and employees feel productive and fulfilled. Make sure to read our WMHD 2024 concept document for more practical ways to ensure mental health is prioritised in the workplace.
We look forward to an engaging and impactful October 2024!
For media enquiries and more information please contact:
Michel’le Donnelly – Project Leader: Advocacy & Awareness
CELL: +27 (0)79 799 6533 | EMAIL: michel’le@safmh.org
