Ministry of health tasks employers on workers’ mental health

Employers in both public and private sectors should prioritize tackling risks that expose employees to mental health challenges, a senior official from the Ministry of Health has said.

Speaking at the belated World Mental Health Day celebrations held in Kampala on October 25, Dr Hafsa Luswata, Assistant Commissioner for Mental Health cited inadequate pay, poor working conditions, working without clear work contracts, as some of the factors that keep employees in a stress or depression mode.
 The day was held under the theme, “Prioritize mental health at workplace.”

“Some of the things affecting employees is working on unknown terms and conditions, poor pay or not being paid an amount commensurate to the work one does. When you have money, pay them well. The cost of living is high. When an employer is not paid adequately, they will constantly borrow to meet their demands. The burden being indebted all the time eventually affects their mental health and productivity,” Dr Luswata explained.
According to the 2023 State of Global Workplace report, Uganda is the second country in Africa with the most stressed workforce (57pecent) in sub-Saharan Africa, after Chad (58 percent).

The study commissioned by the American analytics and advisory company, Gallup which sampled 35 African countries indicated that Tanzania took the third position ( 56 percent) while Kenya scooped the 21st position, with 31 percent of its workforce living in a state of stress.
The report linked stress to high inflation that was execrated by Covid-19 epidemic.     

Dr Luswata noted that quite a big number of Ugandans were battling psychological distress and depression triggered by different shocks of life.
According to the Ministry of Health, an estimated one in six people in Uganda (16.6 percent) depression in their lives due to socio-economic and health related factors.
In addition, an estimated 14 million Ugandans have health mental challenges.  

The World Health Organisation (WHO) ranks Uganda among the top six countries in Africa where its citizens are battling depressive disorders and 2.9 percent of the population lives with anxiety disorders.

Dr Juliet Nakku, the executive director of Butabika National Referral Hospital said that although no concrete data on mental health exists given its stigmatizing nature, an estimated 30 percent of workers in certain settings including, health, legal, and education face mental health challenges.

“The problems stem from the management systems and from workers who may come to work with problems from home while shift workers have challenges, especially when they have to work at night when others are sleeping. The work setting that is noisy, dusty, no rest is granted can affect the mental state of a worker,” Dr Nakku said.
She said working environments, excessive workloads, and job insecurity should be worked upon to ensure a happy and productive workforce.

“Bring in experts to create awareness, set up facilities that promote wellbeing like rest zones where a worker can go and rest for an hour, exercise, grant annual leave. Some people may come to work with existing mental problem from home, they should be understood and supported on how to go about the problems,” Dr Nakku said.
According to the World Health Organisation, decent work supports good mental health by proving a livelihood, a sense of confidence, purpose and achievement, platform for structured routines.

The global health body states that safe and health working conditions are not only a fundamental right, but they are also likely to minimize tension and conflicts at work, and improve staff retention, work performance and productivity.
Dr Annet Musinguzi, Commissioner, Human Resource Management at the Ministry of Health said since people spend half of their life at workplaces, a conducive environment must prevail to have good quality of life.

Mental health
This is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.
It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in. Mental health is a basic human right. And it is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development.

Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. It exists on a complex continuum, which is experienced differently from one person to the next, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress and potentially very different social and clinical outcomes.
World Mental Health Day is celebrated on October, 10 every year with the aim  to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health.