KUALA LUMPUR, The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) fully supports efforts by the government to address mental health issues among civil servants.
It said the Occupational Psychology First Aid (OPFA) course to train civil servants to be psychological first aid providers in the workplace, was among the initiatives by the institute to support the government’s efforts.
Currently, 10,000 participants are attending the two-day OPFA) course which is aimed at providing awareness and basic skills to employers and employees on psychosocial issues so that they can recognise and manage stress in the workplace, it said in a statement today.
It said OPFA is one of the several initiatives aimed at supporting immediate intervention through preventive, rehabilitative and research-based approaches to prevent civil servants from falling into further mental disorders.
“Stress at work can be caused by various factors such as the way work is managed, social factors, work environment, equipment and
exposure to hazards.
“In addition, the practice of bullying in the workplace can also be the main cause of psychological problems as outlined under the ISO 45003:2021 standard on the Management of Safety and Psychosocial Health in the Workplace,” read the statement.
It said that through OPFA, employers and employees also learn to detect early signs of stress, form support mechanisms and deal with the issue before it becomes more serious.
The efforts taken by NIOSH are in line with the announcement by the Director General of Public Services (KPPA) Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz that the government will deal with psychological health issues among civil servants.
According to Wan Ahmad Dahlan, more than 40,000 civil servants are identified as being at high risk of experiencing psychological health problems based on the Civil Servant Psychological Health Digital Profiling System (MyPsyD) that was carried out from March to September this year.
Based on the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019
, 2.3 per cent of Malaysians suffer from depression, while the Relate Mental Health Malaysia 2018 study found that 29 per cent of workers have an unsatisfactory level of mental health.
NIOSH said there is an urgent need to improve psychological well-being in the workplace and calls on employers and employees to participate in the OPFA course through the E-Daftar registration system at the link https://edaftar.niosh.net.my/mhfa to increase awareness and skills in dealing with work stress.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
