Kaya 959 Reporter
Employees have gone through significant changes as a result of the COVID pandemic.
While many of the changes affecting employees’ personal and professional life were made with the public’s health and well-being in mind, there have been evident consequences on people’s mental health as well.
Understanding the obligation of the employer is very crucial to ensuring a productive work environment.
Also Read: PICS! Tumi Linx and Cashflow welcome their baby girl
Kaya Biz with Gugulethu Mfuphi James Horn a Labour Law Consultant who spoke to who shared some of the obligations an employer has regarding mental health in the workplace.
LISTEN TO THE FULL CONVERSATION HERE:
Horn shared some alarming statistics that speak to the realities of the workplace in South Africa when it comes to mental health.
“A recent study shows that up to 10 % of South Africans will suffer from a major depressing episode in their lifetime and the sort of reporting in relation to stress is now up to 60% of South Africans. The reporting indicates that South Africans are suffering from a significant amount of work stress.”
Also Read: Kaya Biz: Gauteng has a new pothole app – PotholeFixGP
It is certainly an issue that has been top of mind since COVID 19, and the question is, how do employers go about addressing this and what are the legal obligations if they fail to do.”
Horn also spoke about how some of the mental health issues get largely unaddressed until there’s misconduct.
“We have certainly seen with a lot of employers and their wellness programs a move to identify mental wellness issues in the workplace and address them proactively which is a positive development.”
“However many of these instances fly under the radar until there’s an issue that arises with work performance.”
He also shared how companies can be proactive in addressing mental health in the workplace.
READ NEXT: Johnny Depp wins defamation trial against Amber Heard, awarded over R160m in damages
