A senior clinical psychologist at Trust Hospital, Eric Owusu Kumi, has urged employers to create and foster conducive workplace environments in order to safeguard the mental wellbeing of their staff.
In his contribution to a discussion on workplace mental health on Joy FM, on Wednesday, the psychologist noted that so many factors can influence ones mental health at work.
He said difficult bosses, abusive language, sexism and the use of derogatory comments can lead to the deterioration of employees mental wellbeing.
“For instance you have a very difficult boss, and he wants only his ideas to happen, but like he said we’re human beings, every human being is independent; we have capacity to generate thoughts, ideas and then pursue them.
“And so if anytime I generate an idea and then my boss throws it away into the trash and to the extent that some bosses can insult you, use abusive words and then sometimes when you’re a female the chance that you’ll not be regarded when even you want to contribute at work.
“There are instances where somebody can tell a female subordinate that ‘but you you belong to the kitchen’ they can even ask ‘have you finished giving birth before you want to contribute these ideas?’ this can also affect the mental health quality of people at the workplace,” he said.
He also added that the discrimination and stigmatisation of workers known to have a mental health illness can also worsen their conditions leading to a breakdown.
“So for instance somebody displays some psychotic behaviour, he behaves ‘funny’ or ‘abnormally’. Everybody at the workplace sees the person, so the person is taken for treatment, he comes back and everybody begins to react, respond and do things differently with that person. That will affect that person’s mental health. So even though the person is on very good medication to make him active and purposeful…[it still affects him],” he said.
He urged that in such situations, employers, work colleagues should be open to supporting the mental health patient rather than isolating them, as any further discrimination could negatively impact the person’s mental wellbeing and lead to a breakdown.
Also contributing to the topic was Senior Medical Officer and Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Isaac Newman Arthur.
He advised that employers should deal with employees in an individualised approach in order not to put unhealthy expectations on staff.
He explained that humans have varying degrees of capabilities and limitations thus employers should be able to identify the capabilities and limitations of each staff in order to deliver tailored objectives for each team member.
“We have some people based on their own childhood growth and experiences, they can actually withstand a lot of stress and pressure, others can’t. So some responsibilities may be a headache for one staff and not necessarily be a headache for another staff. And that is why in dealing with staff you need to be individualised in your approach. You can’t say that ‘oh, we’re all doing the same thing so why are you complaining?’ we’re all different,” he explained.
He also encouraged the fostering of good workplace relationships as a way of improving the mental well-being of staff.
According to him, good workplace relationships can be a stress reliever.
“You know, you’re excited coming to work because you’re going to have people you care about, who you have a very good relationship with at work. So in your office if everybody around, the relationship is not too good, it affects everything else. That in itself becomes stressful,” he said.
He further stressed the need for a good workplace setting.
According to him, the aesthetic feel and look of a workplace can have a major effect on the mental well-being of workers and their productivity.
“Imagine going to a certain work environment where the door flips open before you step in, there are nice paintings and colours, there’s everything, the offices are very, very nice they even have a small lounge where you can go sit when you’re tired, they have a small kitchenette, you know all those things even the painting and arrangement in the office and how things are done – so the aesthetics the arrangements and everything that is at the workplace significantly affects a person’s mental wellbeing. And usually we don’t look at that, even the flowers and all the paintings have a way of helping,” he said.