Twelve employers were given awards for creating mentally friendly and healthy working environments by mental health non-profit organisation, Silver Ribbon (Singapore), on Tuesday (May 4).

The employers are Bizlink Centre Singapore Ltd, FedEx Express, Jardines MINDSET, Jebsen & Jessen Group, Johnson & Johnson Singapore, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Pocari Sweat Singapore, Project X, PSA Corporation Limited, Rio Tinto, Singapore Civil Defence Force and Twitter Asia Pacific.

They were commended for promoting positive mental health awareness in their workplace, offering job opportunities to persons with mental health issues, commemorating World Mental Health Day, equipping their staff with knowledge on identifying mental health issues, and providing accommodation for staff with mental health issues.  

“(The award winners have made) exemplary efforts in championing mental wellbeing in their workplaces … This is especially timely, given the rising awareness of mental wellbeing at workplaces,” said Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State for Manpower and guest-of-honour at the event.

“Mental health is just as important as physical health and it can have a significant impact on workers’ productivity.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 264 million people suffer from depression globally, with many of these people also experiencing symptoms of anxiety, said Ellen Lee, president of Silver Ribbon.

She added that a negative working environment can worsen these mental health problems, leading to physical health issues, harmful use of substances or alcohol, absenteeism, and lost productivity.