Lee calls for early introduction of mental healthcare policy in workplaces

The Malay Mail Online

KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 ― Mental Health Promotion Advisory Council member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye has called for an early introduction of guidelines for promoting mental healthcare in workplace

He said the guidelines were aimed at reducing the increasing number of employees who were likely to suffer anxiety, depression and mental stress due to job pressure.

He said the guidelines would ensure the happiness and well-being of workers and their families through initiatives to promote good mental health in workplaces.

He noted there was an increasing number of executives and workers who were likely to suffer from anxiety, depression and mental stress, in relation to their jobs and working lives.

“In line with this, it might be timely for the government to expedite the introduction of guidelines for mental healthcare promotion, to enable implementation of basic measures for adoption and implementation by employers in workplaces,” he said in a statement here today.

Elaborating, Lee said employers should utilise the safety and health committees at workplaces to examine and identify the current mental health of employees and promote mental healthcare measures.

He said employers should consider the specific nature of mental health problems, the consideration of individual worker privacy and formulate a fundamental programme on mental wellbeing for employees.

He also called on the government to provide more benefits such as insurance coverage for the mentally-ill, and income tax relief for parents or relatives who had to take care of the mentally-ill. ― Bernama