October is World Mental Health Awareness Month and the theme this year is "It is time to Prioritise Mental Health in the Workplace". South Africa ranks as one of the worst countries regarding mental health in the workplace. Studies further show that South Africans are the second most stressed employees in the world.
According to the second Annual Mental State of the World Report 2021, as many as one-quarter of South African employees will be diagnosed with depression during their employment. However, only between 15% and 25% will seek and receive help. Mental disorders result in massive lost productivity each year and it is estimated that employee absenteeism costs the South African economy approximately R19 billion annually.
Barbara Meyer, PR and communications Officer at Cape Mental Health, says that employers get impacted by absenteeism and reduced productivity and can affect the cash flow of the business and result in job loss. “This creates a vicious cycle between employees’ mental health, organisational output, and job surety,” says Meyer.
A fact sheet from the World Health Organization states that while decent work is good for mental health; poor working environments such as discrimination and inequality, excessive workloads, low job control and job insecurity pose a risk to mental health. An unhealthy working environment can impact one’s physical and mental health.
Employees use unhealthy ways to cope with work stress, such as excessive drinking and smoking, inadequate sleep or oversleeping, poor eating habits, a lack of exercise, gambling, and excessive social media use. These bad habits can worsen your physical health in the long term and worsen your mental health condition.
Furthermore, people living with severe mental health conditions are largely excluded from work despite this being important for recovery.
This year, Cape Mental Health echoes the call of the World Federation of Mental Health to champion mental health in the workplace and build best practices that create cultures where workers have the potential to contribute productively and thrive. WHO therefore encourages more effective actions to prevent mental health risks in the workplace, protect and promote the mental health of employees, and support workers experiencing mental health conditions.
