MENTAL HEALTH LEAVE, SIMILAR TO SICK LEAVE, SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN EMPLOYMENT ACT REVISIONS - HUMAN RESOURCE EXPERT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 (Bernama) -- A human resource expert suggests that mandatory mental health leave, or stress leave, be incorporated into upcoming revisions of Malaysia's Employment Act 1955, similar to the provisions for sick leave.

Dinesh Sekhar, managing director of human resource training consultancy Quantum Inno Creat Sdn Bhd (QIC), also emphasised the need for clear guidelines to address workplace harassment or conditions that impact employees' mental health negatively.

In suggesting mental health changes in today’s workplace, he said mental health comprising psychological feelings of occupational anxiety, depression and stress should be handled positively by both employers and employees.

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 “Today’s workplace landscape is past the era where such health issues were once either ignored or swept under the carpet.

“They must address these once-taboo health matters decisively and effectively,” he said in a statement lauding Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Mohd Effendy Abdul Ghani’s recent comments seeking additional changes and revisions to the Employment Act to include mental health elements.

In welcoming such suggestions, Dinesh said they were timely coming after the drastic disruptive changes experienced at the workplace post-COVID-19. This is more so with “World Mental Health” being celebrated in October.

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He cited how among the nation’s youngsters, about one million Malaysians or 4.6 per cent of the current population aged 15 and older were suffering from depression.

It has not spared even children where 16.5 per cent of kids aged five to 15 years old were afflicted with mental health problems.

As Malaysia’s business scene starts to improve with more people returning to physical work, the demands at the workplace become even more aggressive.

As such, “these changes to the Employment Act stand to responsibly address evolving mental and psychological matters in today’s disruptive workplace, via an honest and positive approach.”

Dinesh called on employers to be ever more conscious, observant and responsible for the physical-cum-psychological state of every employee by adopting a humane approach.

He lamented that technology and modern applications, supposedly meant to make life more organised and simpler to navigate, were instead escalating emotional-cum-psychological trauma at a phenomenal rate.

Dinesh said that when the brain is constantly pushed to overdrive resulting in stress-like symptoms, this spreads to every other activity and when it becomes unbearable, it leads to depression.

One of the remedies for this malady could be found through QIC’s latest ‘Technology Detox’ programme, which helps address lifestyle stress within the work environment, said Dinesh.

– BERNAMA