Sim says at least 10,000 workers nationwide will be trained as mental health first aiders.
CONCERTED efforts are in place to ensure better mental health management at the workplace in line with the 2020-2025 National Strategic Plan for Mental Health.
Human Resource Minister Steven Sim says ongoing efforts include strengthening mental health resources – as listed in the national strategic plan – to train 10,000 mental health first aiders nationwide for free at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); this is a part of a campaign to ensure better mental health management at the workplace.
He says the Occupational Mental Health First Aid course takes three days and aims to train employees to provide mental health first aid to their colleagues.
“We are training them for free for employees throughout the country. It will cost NIOSH [which developed the programme] RM12mil or RM1,200 per pax.
As of now, despite its initial 10,000 participation target, almost 15,000 have been registered to undergo the course.
“We aim to have at least one occupational mental health first aider in every office to ensure a better mental health environment in our workplaces,” Sim says.
At the same time, Sim reiterates that the implementation last year of Flexible Working Arrangements (FWA) in the Employment Act 1955 can help to enhance working conditions for workers.
“What we want is good industrial relations where employers must understand the situation of workers, and we see FWA as one of the methods to enable workers to have a better work environment, especially [when it comes to enduring] traffic hours or the need for career care tasks,” Sim had said in April.
FWA allows employees to request flexible working hours from their employers but the approval will be subject to their terms of employment as well as the impact on productivity, among others.
