Has the prolonged pandemic has taken a toll on you, as a worker? A Straits Times article recently shared that 70% of residents in Singapore said that this year has been their most stressful year at work. 50% of those they surveyed felt that they were struggling with their mental well-being at work more this year as compared to last year. These statistics are hardly surprising if you ask me 🙁
The silver lining? A recent local study by Oracle showed that 77 per cent of respondents felt their companies are more concerned about their mental well-being now, compared with before the pandemic.
“Employees should surface issues to their employers, and employers should support their employees, because work can be good for mental well-being, and mental well-being is good for work,” Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad said at the virtual launch of the inaugural Workplace Mental Well-Being Campaign. The campaign is part of ongoing efforts by the Tripartite Oversight Committee on Workplace Safety and Health to foster a supportive working environment.
Remote working wasn’t as wonderful as employees had imagined in the pre-pandemic days… So… employers are pivotal in the the fight against employee burnout. Mr Zaqy shared that we should capitalise on this momentum and awareness, to normalise support for employees’ mental well-being across all companies.
Royal Plaza on Scotts, for example, has implemented no after-hours communication, no-meeting Fridays. Good move, I’d say! They are apparently one of the first organisations in Singapore to implement no after-hours communication, and no meeting Fridays!
Labour MP Melvin Yong had also previously mooted the concept of a “Right To Disconnect” law in Parliament on several occasions. Similar to how France implements this legislation, a “Right To Disconnect” law would allow for employers and employees to negotiate the protocol for non-emergency calls and non-critical emails, outside of working hours. What do you think? Would it be feasible for workers in Singapore? 🙂
