Singapore (VNA) – Singapore’s Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council has launched a new guide to help employers better support the mental well-being of their employees.
The recommendations in the handbook cover topics such as how to nurture a positive culture for workplace mental health, how to set up workplace support systems, and how to help employees recovering from mental health conditions return to work with confidence.
The 40-page document also features case studies from local organisations, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on how they have implemented measures that support mental health at the workplace.
The handbook also includes a section on frequently asked questions, addressing situations such as how to manage employees with a long leave of absence for mental health, how to approach an employee who might have engaged in self-harm, and how to handle staff who cause poor mental health among co-workers.
The handbook’s recommendations are voluntary and flexible, and companies can adopt the practices based on their specific needs and implementation flexibility.
They were developed by a tripartite workgroup under the WSH Council’s Mental Well-being Committee following extensive consultation with unions, human resources practitioners and social service agencies.
The handbook was launched on October 13 at the Well-being Champions Network’s engagement session, where companies came together to discuss mental health matters.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower Shawn Huang, who was guest of honour at the event, said that according to the Ministry of Health’s National Population Health Surveys, the prevalence of poor mental health has been broadly rising from 12.5% of the adult population to 15% in 2023.
Huang pointed out that Singapore has come far from a time when mental health care meant patients needed to be in a custodial setting where they are institutionalised and cared for. Instead, individuals with mental health conditions can now be empowered to live independently and contribute meaningfully./.
