A couple of weeks ago, I visited Mount Carmel Hospital, and I’ve been in a state of shock ever since. From condemned ceilings to sub-standard sanitation, from over-crowding to cracks so wide that rats can sneak in.

How can the Government claim that Malta is amongst the best in the world, when we are incapable of treating the most vulnerable members of our society humanely and with the respect that they deserve? 

What’s the use of registering a surplus for the third consecutive year when success is not distributed fairly and justly?

Our mental health system is so lacking that I shudder at the thought that someone I love might one day need it.  Despite the introduction of a new Mental Health Act and plans for a national strategy, mental health patients are still falling victims of neglect, and dare I say, of having their human rights breached.

As much as we try to raise awareness and make the subject less of a taboo, the disastrous state of Mount Carmel Hospital keeps it soaked in stigma. Mental health patients deserve the same dignity and privacy as any other medical patient, but this is clearly not happening. It’s no wonder in fact that a third of mental healthcare professionals in Malta suffer from symptoms of burnout.

As an employment lawyer and trainer I am very familiar with how mental health issues can affect a person’s performance, their employment, their livelihood and their attitude towards employees and employers. Mental health can have a serious impact on any business and it is important that employees champion mental health and well-being.

According to The Richmond Foundation, in Malta, one in five adolescents self-harm before the age of 17 and, around 150,000 people in Malta would face mental health problems at some point in their lives. 75% experience their first symptoms before the age of 25 and it takes the average person four to ten years to seek help.

HR professionals and employers are in a key position to help change attitudes towards mental health in the workplace. 

One of the best ways to support mental health within your organisation is to make sure that people perceive their roles as meaningful and purposeful.  By giving employees the necessary independence and resources, they feel trusted and will generally be happier at work. Proper direction and leadership are also essential, as is being approachable and available.

As the World Health Organisation stated in 2017 ‘Work is good for mental health but a negative working environment can lead to physical and mental health problems.”

But in practice, what can employers do to support mental health in the workplace?

Awareness

Companies and organisations should provide employees with education and resources about mental health issues and conditions. They should also encourage employees to approach colleagues who appear to be emotionally distressed and provide the appropriate training on how to ask the right questions when someone appears to be struggling.

Training

Let’s face it, most us would not know what to say or do when faced with someone with a mental health crisis. Providing managers and leaders with the right training to support staff with mental health problems as well as to safeguard general well-being, can make a real difference. Such education includes sensitivity-training for managers to understand that everyone is different and that being a good manager involves being able to decode every individual’s uniqueness.

Work-Life Balance

The idea of having a good balance between work and the rest of our lives is based on the acknowledgement that people have other needs to satisfy, besides their financial ones. It is also an acknowledgement that work should not be the absolute centre of our lives and that our recreational, leisure and family lives are just as important for our mental health and general well-being.  Employers can help their staff achieve this elusive work-life balance by providing flexible options, such as starting work from home to avoid rush hour traffic, the opportunity to attend medical appointments without having to take the whole day off, parental leave and other family friendly measures.

Policies

Having a proper mental health policy in the workplace helps prevent discrimination and stigma. It also provides a systematic way to fight bullying and harassment. Depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions might not be as visible as a broken leg or having the flu, but they can be just as debilitating.  In addition mental illness is not limited to your employees’ personal lives, and by ignoring these issues companies and organisations miss out on significant returns that healthy employees can deliver.  Back in 2015 The World Health Organisation claimed that without more adequate treatment, 12 billion working days will be lost to mental illness each year from now to 2030.

Keep an eye out for engagement

The level of a worker’s engagement is indicative of their mental health. Engagement is in fact the best single metric that a manager can have to detect burn out and other poor health issues. When people are disengaged they are at higher risk of mental breakdowns, burnout and depression.

Around the world, more than 300 million people suffer from depression. This is a leading cause of disability costing the global economy US$1 trillion per year in lost productivity.  The good news is that there’s a lot we can do to improve the situation, to reduce work-related risk factors, to develop the positive aspects of work and to address mental health problems humanely, appropriately, professionally and regardless of the cause.

Mental Health is not just a public health issue; it is also a development issue. The local and global economy cannot afford such loss in productivity and yet, at the moment, policies addressing mental health are the responsibility of individual EU countries. Even thought there’s been a renewed focus at EU level, I believe that not enough is being done in this area. I plan to work towards making mental health a priority on the EU’s public health agenda.

Dr Roselyn Borg Knight is a lawyer specialized in employment law.

She is also a PN candidate for the EP election.