DUBAI: The Dubai Chamber Sustainability Network Task Force on Employee Welfare and Wellbeing recently organised a webinar advising businesses on different strategies for identifying mental health problems at workplace, as well as various coping tools, mechanisms and techniques that can support employees dealing with such issues.
The webinar, titled Factors Affecting Mental Health at Workplace, Signs and Coping Mechanisms, examined mental health as a major issue affecting nearly every organisation, which has become a lot more prevalent due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Companies were briefed on how healthy workplace policies such as anti-bullying programs, occupational health and safety measures, peer support, worker-led initiatives and life skills training, have proven to be effective ways to improve mental health among employees and increase their efficiency and productivity.
During the
event, an expert panel joined by Dr. Jana Bou Reslan,
Lecturer of Educational Psychology at University of Balamand Dubai; Lakshmi
Montgomery, Employee Relations Manager, Dulsco; and Dr. Maged Iskander, Head
Health Sciences at Nestlé, shared their experiences and advice for businesses
on creating various coping mechanisms including practical communication and
supporting strategies, enabling line managers and leaders to champion mental
health initiatives, empowering individuals to support themselves and others to
aid recovery- self-care awareness and encouraging collective team actions at
workplace to reduce mental health problems.
One of the main recommendations from the panelists was the need for businesses to have continuous commitment from senior leaders to take the issue of employee wellbeing seriously and give it the attention and resources it deserves.
Building a culture of trust and tolerance goes a long way in creating a workplace environment that supports employee wellbeing, the panelists noted, adding that in a compassionate environment, employees should be able to talk about mental health, benefit from flexible work hours and remote working and take regular breaks.
The Dubai Chamber Sustainability Network is an essential platform for the business community to exchange information and experiences on matters related to corporate social responsibility and sustainability.
