About 2 weeks ago, I was invited by the Malaysian Invisible Illnesses (MIIA) &  Malaysian Society For Occupational Safety And Health (MSOSH) to give a talk about mental health among workers.

We spend at least 1/3 of our day in the office; and once we go home we then put on another hat: as a father, mother, daughter or son. Taking on multiple roles is never an easy thing, and it is exactly this that sometimes causes us to be stressed out.

Stress is something that everyone faces at some point in their lives; and it depends on an individual (how they perceive the stress). I would like to stress that as working adults (and as a normal human being) it is impossible for us to separate fully the stress at the workplace and home. It is very often that there is a spillover; stress at home is shown at work and vice versa. What happens then? I would like concentrate on stress in the workplace.

There are many sources of stress in the workplace; and most of the time it is due to the work itself. It is very easy to dismiss an individual who says that they are stressed, as you would think that “Ya, everyone is stressed, not just you”. While this is true, individual differences and perception will result in better or worse ability to cope with stress. When the stress becomes unbearable, it can lead to anxiety and depression (among others). It is when it gets to this stage that it then becomes a bigger problem. The worst thing about mental well-being in the workplace is that employers are still not recognizing that this is a real issue and if not taken care of while it is ‘budding’, then it can and certainly will ‘bloom’ into something bigger.

So first things first, everyone has got to realize that this issue is very real, and even more so is that it exists in the workplace and it can have serious consequences on both the individual as well as the organization. I will share more in another post about the causes of stress in the workplace.

For now, remember to stay ‘healthy’ in the workplace. Have a good and pleasant day everyone!!