With employee mental health directly impacting workplace productivity, presenteeism and the overall organizational culture, it is in the best interest of the Business and HR leaders to create a healthier and happier workforce.
The mental health crisis triggered by the pandemic has become a catalyst for enterprises to embark on or accelerate their Digital HR journey. It has provided an opportunity to reconceptualize their wellbeing & wellness framework, forcing them to move away from just launching token wellbeing programs to make it their top priority.
With employee mental health directly impacting workplace productivity, presenteeism, and the overall organizational culture, it is in the best interest of the Business and HR leaders to create a healthier and happier workforce.
While acknowledging the prevalence and impact of mental health in the workplace is the first step, what should Singapore enterprises do to better understand & support the holistic wellbeing (including physical, social, financial, emotional, and mental health) of their workforce?
Illustrated by: Carolyn Chia (Website | LinkedIn)
To answer this question, Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) organised a webinar, in partnership with hrtech.sg and SHRM. Incidentally, it was organised to coincide with the first year anniversary of the pathbreaking Singapore Tripartite Advisory on Mental Well-being at Workplaces. “Leveraging Tech for Employee Mental Wellness”, the session provided some great perspectives from subject matter experts, who shared their experiences, and insights on Mental Wellness Tech.
CP Tham, Representative & Facilitator, South East Asia for SHRM moderated the session and shared his insights on the importance of leveraging technology to improve wellbeing practices in the workplace. According to the poll administered during the webinar, 48% of the participants had implemented an initiative to leverage technology/create awareness on mental wellness.
Josephine Chua (IHRP-MP), Director of HR & Quality, Ramada & Days Hotel by Wyndham shared an HR Practitioner perspective by highlighting how they developed an employee app called “RD-Connect” to increase focus on Employee Appreciation & Recognition in a virtual workplace. She shared that their focus was on the holistic wellbeing of employees and on creating happier, engaged employees who will deliver business outcomes.
Ong Peh Woon, Senior Assistant Director of Business Development, WSH Council, shared that as companies transition to the next normal, those who realise that “employee well-being is critical to sustaining businesses for the long term” will be ones that thrive and excel in the marketplace. She talked about the “ABCs to better well being at your workplace” (image below) and highlighted the various government initiatives that organisations can leverage:
Marion Neubronner, Senior Assistant Director, NUS Medicine International Council, shared the importance of building a community & culture of wellness, as well as, discussed in length the various resources (including Mindline.sg, Wysa) that organisations can use to foster a culture of well-being.
Jay Boudou, Executive Director ANZ, Virgin Pulse, shared that 50% of employees expect their employer to help find mental health services. The HR Priorities in 2022 are Employee Mental Well-being, People Analytics; Managing Hybrid Workplaces; DEI and Engaging employees in new ways.
Benefits of leveraging mental wellness tools are manifold: easy accessibility as they can work in both in an online & offline model; data-driven insights help in taking a targeted and proactive approach in identifying employees experiencing negativity; early intervention by analysing patterns of disturbed functioning reduces the cost of therapy; and enables better collaboration amongst teams that creates a healthier work culture. The time to act is NOW.
So is your organisation ready to fight the next pandemic of Mental Health?
Webinar Recording:
Additional Resources:
- Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) tips to support mental Well-being at the workplace
- Ministry of Manpower’s iWorkHealth
- Mindline (a joint initiative of SG Govt MOH, MSF, NCSS & IMH)
- Mental Wellness Tech Tools on hrtech.sg Marketplace
- eBook: Mental Wellness Tech 2021
- Product Demos: Employee Mental Wellness
- Motivations behind adopting mental well-being initiatives (A WSH Survey)
- Mind Matters Resource Directory Listings
If you would like to access the presenter slides, do reach out to us at [email protected]!
About the author :
Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-CP, Associate CIPD) is Head Consulting and Delivery-Digital HR at hrtech.sg and has over 9 years of global experience in various Talent functions. She is a passionate HRTech evangelist, a member of IHRP HRTech CoP Taskforce, and an avid learner who is certified Six Sigma-Green Belt with a background of MBA (Specialization in HR and IT) and Master’s in Labor Laws and Labor Welfare.