KUALA LUMPUR: The Alliance for Safe Community has called on employers to implement a workplace health promotion (WHP) concept to better manage the mental health of their workers.
Its chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the workplace directly influenced physical, mental, economic and social well-being of workers and in turn, the health of their families, communities and society.
He said the WHP concept is becoming increasingly relevant as more private and public organisations recognise that future success in a global marketplace could only be achieved with a healthy, qualified and motivated workforce.
"The implementation of WHP can ensure a flexible and dynamic balance between customer expectations and organisational targets on the one hand, and employees' skills and health needs on the other, which can assist companies and work organisations to compete in the marketplace.
"WHP is essential and it requires the combined efforts of employers, employees and government working together to improve the health and well-being of people at work," he said in a statement today.
He said employers should be responsible for implementing plans to prevent or reduce psychosocial risks, enabling their employees to play their part and help create a healthy psychosocial work environment.
He added that managing stress and psychosocial risks at work would create a healthy work environment, in which workers feel valued and the workplace culture is more positive and consequently, productivity and business performance can improve.
He said although many factors are attributed to workers' mental health and well-being, there is increasing evidence that the workplace environment makes a significant contribution.
"In a good psychosocial environment, work can be beneficial for workers' mental health, giving them a greater sense of social inclusion, identity and status, opportunities for development and increased confidence.
"Conversely, a poor psychosocial work environment can have significant negative effects on workers' health," he said.
He said employers tend to overlook the depression suffered by workers especially if they are suffering from a mild form of depression such as burnout and dysthymia.
Lee stressed that employers must be aware that the neglect of mental health and psychosocial factors at the workplace is not only detrimental to the individual worker but also directly affects productivity, efficiency and output of any organisation.
Employee performance, frequent illness, absenteeism, accidents and staff turnover are all affected by employees' mental health status, he said.
"The impact of mental health problems on the workers, their families and society as a whole, is immense and needs to be addressed. It is important to ensure the happiness and wellbeing of workers and their families through initiatives to promote good mental health at the workplace.
"Mental health issues at the workplace should be given due attention as the productivity of the staff of any organisation depends on their 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." he added.