NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI/Lafia
A mental health expert, Dr. Paul Agbo has called on employers of labour to ensure that workplaces are conducive. This, he said, is the basis for increased productivity among workers. The physician who spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a walk to commemorate the day and a public lecture a day after advised enterprises to “prioritize employee health have fewer cases of absenteeism.” The scope of healthcare, he noted has expanded beyond just the physical. He said healthiness implies a combined completeness of psycho, social and emotional wellness. He spoke on the sub-theme “A Healthy Workplace, Panacea for Unproductivity.”
The psychiatrist said statistics from clinical examinations are grim. One in four people, he said, have one form of mental illness or another. One in eight people, suffer a form of disorder or another. To solve this problem, he called on supervisors, and employers of labour to ensure that they provide a conducive environment in their organisations. If done, the risk of depression, bipolar and other mental health challenges is reduced. He highlighted toxic work environment features like gossip, blame culture, and stress, as being responsible for anxiety, chronic physical illness poor sleep, headaches etc, which in turn impact productivity.
To increase productivity, Dr Agbo who heads the Behavioural and mental health department of the Federal University of Lafia Teaching Hospital, Lafia called for a clear opportunity and give every worker a voice to air their concerns, set clear expectations for employees, ensure that workers have a clear work-life balance, maintaining physical wellbeing as well as ensuring mental and emotion health, provide an avenue for professional development, and workers must optimize work environment for their good. With these taken into consideration, he says “Employers should note that the mental wellbeing of your workers is your best bet at productivity.”
In an interview with reporters after the walk, Dr. Agbo said the theme for the 2024 World Mental Health Day which is held on the 10th of October annually, is Mental Health and the Workplace but interest shifted to the sub-theme because “We have realised that if the health of the workers is not optimal, they will not give you their best. When people are not happy, when people are not satisfied, when people are not appreciated, then you don’t expect them to be happy. That is basically why we decided to celebrate that day with a walk, to create awareness,” he noted.