Mental illness lowering productivity among public servants - PS

Human resource managers want the review of the Human Resource Management Professionals Act 2012 fast-tracked.

This will not only empower the professionals to be more proactive and innovative in integrating human attributes into the workplaces, but also ensure mental wellness of their employees.

Speaking at the second HR summit for directors and deputy directors from ministries and departments in the public service in Mombasa on Tuesday, Institute of Human Resource Management national chairman Philip Odero said good mental health is fundamental to the productivity and wellbeing of the workforce.

Public Service PS Amos Gathecha said mental health has become a serious problem in the public service since Covid-19.

Before Covid, the state department would attend to about 3,000 civil servants per year on mental health, but after the pandemic the numbers have significantly escalated.

“In the year 2021-2022, we saw 13,000 civil servants who had issues of mental health. We are expecting the number to go up by the end of this month of June,” Gathecha said.

He said it is time to address the problem.

“When you are dealing with HR, you are dealing with individuals and each individual has a unique problem. The person handling that civil servant must be emotionally stable,” he said.

Odero said this is why review of the Act is crucial.

“Therefore, this amendment is crucial for the effective implementation of the Act, ensuring that it addresses contemporary challenges and meets the evolving needs of the HR profession,” Odero said in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy Beatrice Bii.

He said amendment of the law would empower HR professionals to be more proactive and innovative in integrating human attributes into the workplaces.

Odero said the aim is to nurture emotionally intelligent leaders who can drive optimal public service productivity and employee wellbeing.

“Emotional intelligence is a cornerstone of effective leadership. It enables us to understand and manage our emotions and those of others fostering a workplace environment characterised by respect, empathy and collaboration,” Odero said.

He called for more investment in emotional intelligence training and mental health programmes to create environments where employees feel supported and valued for maximum productivity.

He said the national guidelines on workplace mental wellness provides a framework for creating supportive work environment and ensures employees have access to the necessary mental resources.

PS Gathecha said productivity is now a top priority for government and this cannot be achieved without good mental health in workplaces.

Productivity of the public sector is directly linked to the quality of the human capital, which leads to sustained economic growth and development.

He said Singapore’s journey of transformation was achieved by major investment in public sector transformation through human capital development.

He acknowledged that budgetary challenges have derailed human capital training, which leads to poor mental health in the long run.

“I know we have a problem. When it comes to budget cuts the first thing that suffers is training, the training funds. But we have put a case across and we have said that training funds should be ring-fenced so that we keep sharpening our employees,” PS Gathecha said.

He said training programmes should be aligned to organisational mandates and core functions incorporating Artificial Intelligence and digitisation.