The National Human Resources Policy, according to Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar, developed by his ministry and will address workplace mental health as well as worker safety and health.
According to Bernama, Sivakumar noted that the creation of this policy was crucial since, in Malaysia, mental health problems rank second in terms of health issues after heart disease. As a result, intervention measures critically needed to address this problem.
“We are serious in developing the National Human Resources Policy and the context of mental health will be refined,” he said at a press conference after attending the ‘Program Minda Sihat Hidup Sejahtera’ at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) here on 1 November.
According to Sivakumar, a low degree of knowledge is the reason behind the reported number of psychosocial cases, which describe the relationship between social conditions and an individual’s mental or emotional health at the workplace.
In contrast to other industrial diseases, including lung disease, bacterial infection, and hearing impairment, only one psychological case documented in 2022, according to the National Industrial Accident and Disease Statistics.
The minister added that NIOSH is working on several projects, such as the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), which tries to assist in identifying and addressing early mental health programs for employees so that it does not impact their productivity at work.
Peer support, virtual reality-assisted relaxation therapy, brainwave analysis, and individual or group counseling sessions are among the modules that the EAP offers.
The National Human Resources Policy, according to Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar, developed by his ministry and will address workplace mental health as well as worker safety and health.