The mental well-being of employees is an issue that was in the news recently.

The most recent 2022 Misco survey on Employee Wellbeing at the Workplace displayed a significant increase in the respondents stating that they have mental health issues related to work.

Indeed, 79% of employees experienced mental health issues such as stress and anxiety related to work and this is an issue that needs to be tackled.

Couple this with other stress factors over recent years and it paints a very worrying picture. Covid-19 took its toll on everyone - some coped better than others. Inflation is also causing stress - the rising prices for basic products is a problem that everyone is facing. The instability internationally, for example with the war in Ukraine, also plays a part.

As such, the culmination of stress factors from every angle is going to have an impact on people.

But while some of these issues we have no control over, we do have some form of control over work-related stress.

Psychologist Patrick Psaila told this newsroom that businesses should "put their money where their mouth is" when talking about the importance of mental health at the workplace. "They need to have a corporate wellness programme in place, which means that it gives a clear message to employees, that it's okay to speak up if you are having mental health issues," Psaila, a director of PsyPotential Ltd, said.

In order to deal with mental-health issues, we need to speak up about them. In turn, management at businesses must listen and, where possible, try to solve issues.

Psaila said that It has to be very clear that in no way are workers going to be judged or penalised, rather they should be given the necessary support. The corporate wellness programme should include educational sessions, and counselling services if necessary, he added. He had said that there are a high number of people who are stressed, which is the main contributing factor to mental health issues. "In this day and age tight deadlines, work pressure and a heavy workload are what is expected. It is the norm," he said.

This newsroom also spoke to the CEO of the Malta Employers' Association, Joseph Farrugia. Farrugia pointed out that one would need to look at the different sectoral differences to understand the types of stress an individual is under. However, overall he believes that the shortage of workers in many industries is a major factor causing stress in the workplace. 

He also suggested that a high turnover of employees in a company is also a stress factor for the employees themselves, having to see so many colleagues come and go. In addition, employers are also suffering from stress, he said. That is undoubtedly true, especially given the economic impact the country has faced over recent years which was due to outside factors. Businesses have, after all, been facing many challenges.

All in all, there are many factors that contribute to the mental health issues employees may face. While those caused by outside factors cannot really be controlled, giving space for employees to talk about their work issues, and also acting on those issues to try and improve things, can help. Making sure employees know they are valued by the company, and that their voices are being heard is a good step.

Besides these points, there is also the matter of salaries. It is a fact that the cost of living in Malta is on the rise - but even before then it was already stressful for one to do something as essential as securing a roof over one's head. The issue is that while salaries prior to the Covid-19 pandemic were already on the borderline of coping or not, today the prices of pretty much everything has increased, but some of those same salaries have remained the same or not risen to equal the rise in prices. Financial security is no joke when it comes to one's mental health because it is make or break for the quality of life one can have. This is something that should be kept in mind in the coming months when there will no doubt be more pressure from business representatives (as there already has been) for something like the COLA increase not to be granted.