Every year, 10 October marks World Mental Health Day. According to Sapien Labs' 2023 and 2024 Annual Mental State of the World Reports, South Africa is ranked among the lowest countries in terms of mental health.
Given the above, together with the fact that health economists have, previously, estimated that neglected mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, cost the South African economy ZAR161 billion annually due to lost workdays, it is unsurprising that the Department of Health Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2023–2030, published in 2023, acknowledges the urgent need for both a new national mental health policy and strategy plan and emphasises the importance of both inter-sectoral collaboration and adopting a multi-faceted approach.
What does this mean for employers?
Although there are various compelling reasons why employers should prioritise their employees' mental health, the primary reason that an employer should be concerned with their employees' mental well-being is because it is a legal obligation.
Employers have a legal obligation under section 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 ("OHSA") to provide and maintain, as far as is reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of their employees. Section 8(2) of OHSA provides more specific employer responsibilities, including but not limited to:
- Taking reasonable steps to ensure employee safety and health by eliminating or reducing hazards;
- Establishing precautionary measures regarding workplace risks;
- Providing necessary information, instructions, training, and supervision to promote health and safety at work; and
- Enforcing health and safety measures where necessary.
Whilst OHSA previously focused more on physical health, the introduction of the SANS/ISO 45001 Standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management in 2018, confirmed that employers' legal responsibilities in relation to workplace safety included the protection and promotion of employees' mental health and further acknowledged the significance of mental health in workplace safety.
Having said that, a possibly far more attractive reason for being concerned with mental health is the direct correlation between people, their wellbeing and profits. Research has shown that neglecting employees' mental well-being directly impacts the profitability of an organisation. Consequently, whilst employers have a legal duty to prioritise their employees' mental health in the workplace, there is also a compelling business case for doing so.
The nexus between mental health and profitability may be obvious, but it is important for employers to keep a finger on the pulse when it comes to their employees' overall mental well-being. Given the amount of time that most employees spend working, work forms a significant part of employees' lives. As such, what happens at work has the potential to affect employees' personal lives more broadly. However, the corollary is true as well. What happens in employees' lives outside of working hours can impact them in the work environment. The challenges experienced by employees in their personal lives do not just disappear at the workplace door. These "out of office" challenges have the real potential to impact attendance, productivity and performance.
By way of example, Deloitte's Mental Health and Employers Report: The case for employers to invest in supporting working parents and a mentally healthy workplace ("Mental Health and Employers Report"), published in May 2024, highlights that almost half of employees reported concerns about their children's mental health and that these concerns had negatively affected their work performance, either through decreased productivity, absenteeism, or, in some cases, resigning from their roles.
Employers need to decide whether they can afford to look the other way when it comes to employees' mental well-being and whether it is worthwhile to foster an environment that supports employees both on and off the proverbial playing field.
What can employers do?
There is an array of possibilities available to employers to improve mental health and well-being in the workplace. In this regard, a previously published Deloitte survey on mental health and well-being in the workplace listed key aspects which, in their opinion, facilitated and increased the effectiveness of the measures employers introduced to promote and maintain good mental health in the workplace. These included:
- High leadership involvement, with approachable senior management, and mandated well-being check-ins;
- A supportive work culture, including awareness sessions and employee engagement initiatives; and
- Flexible working arrangements, supportive leave policies, and a focus on work-life balance.
However, one particular finding from Deloitte's Mental Health and Employers Report was that, despite employers making resources and assistance available to employees, almost two-thirds of employees sought support from external sources. This tendency was attributed to the ongoing stigma surrounding mental health issues in the workplace. This reaffirms the importance of reducing the stigma around mental health. Employers should work hard at normalising conversations around mental well-being in order to ensure that their efforts and interventions do not go to waste.
Key takeaways for employers:
Win-win for all: Prioritising mental health and well-being in the workplace benefits both employees and employers. Accordingly, employers serve to gain from investing in the improvement of employee mental health and well-being;
Change in perspective: Recognising that employees face diverse challenges that do not dissipate upon entering the workplace is vital. Accordingly, a tailored approach is far more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach for addressing mental health; and
Reduction in stigma: Acknowledging that, even where the best assistance and resources are made available if the stigma surrounding mental health remains rife in the workplace, the resources and assistance will go underutilised. Accordingly, cultivating a work environment that encourages conversation and education around mental health is a worthwhile place for employers to start.
In conclusion, mental health is an issue that plays a significant role in employee well-being and business success. Therefore, employers, through creating a work environment that promotes mental health and well-being, play a crucial role in improving the overall performance of the organisation. World Mental Health Day, thus, serves as a reminder to employers of the importance of proactively and comprehensively addressing mental health in the workplace.
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