What you need to know
- Mental health has been identified as a growing concern in Singapore. The effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in mental health issues in the community and the workplace.
- The Tripartite Advisory on Mental Well-being in Workplaces (the Advisory) has been introduced by the Tripartite Partners to encourage employers to implement a wide-ranging series of workplace initiatives to support the mental well-being of employees.
What you need to do
- Review your existing employment practices and policies and make the necessary changes in order to comply with the recommendations of the Advisory.
In recognition of the importance of mental health in the workplace, the Singapore Tripartite Partners have released the Advisory. Given the potentially adverse effects on employees' mental well-being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Advisory provides various recommendations which employers should implement to support their employees' mental well-being.
The Advisory recommends measures which employers can implement at three levels:
- the organisation level;
- the team/department level; and
- the individual employee level.
Recommendation for organisation level
At the organisation level, employers are encouraged to implement various changes to their employment practices to create a work environment which is more conducive to good mental well-being. At a general level, all hiring practices, workplace practices and performance management systems should be non-discriminatory and based on fair and objective criteria. This builds on the existing requirement imposed by the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices which states that employers should not ask applicants to declare their mental health condition unless that is a reasonable factor in determining suitability for the role. Employers should also establish internal reporting channels to facilitate confidential reporting of any potential issues and discriminatory behaviour.
Further, employers are encouraged to implement flexible work arrangements such as telecommuting, staggered working hours and time-banking to allow employees to better manage the demands of their personal circumstances (such as caregiver responsibilities). Employers are also encouraged to establish a clear and reasonable policy on work communication outside of usual work hours, in order to reduce burnout and further assist employees to manage their work and personal demands.
Finally, the Advisory encourages employers to regularly review the state of their employees' mental well-being by conducting surveys and analysis of relevant employment data such as attendance/absentee rates.
Recommendations for team/department level
At this level, the Advisory recommends that employers train their mangers, supervisors and other relevant personnel on mental well-being issues. This will enable them to spot signs of mental distress in individual employees, and enable them to create a safe and supportive work environment.
Employers should also encourage and facilitate the establishment of informal social support systems in the workplace so that employees may support one another at a peer level. In this case, clear policies and protocols on how to escalate issues should also be put in place.
Recommendations for individual employee level
The main recommendation in this regard is for employers to provide individual employees with access to relevant mental well-being resources. This can include conducting seminars and workshops, and counselling. The Advisory also recommends that companies implement formal Employee Assistance Programs if they have not already done so. There are various existing mental well-being programmes administered by the Health Promotion Board which employers can tap on.
The Advisory also recommends that employers expand the scope of their medical benefits scheme to cover the costs of mental health consultations and treatments, and other relevant mental well-being programmes.
Conclusion
The Advisory signifies the increased emphasis placed on the issue of workplace mental well-being by the Ministry of Manpower and its partners. Employers should carefully review the recommendations set out in the Advisory and consider how they can be implemented in practice.
