Work environment-related stress has become one of the main causes of mental health issues among the Ugandan population.
In Uganda today, it is estimated that 14 million Ugandans suffer from mental health issues that are caused by losing loved ones, discrimination, poverty, stress, or having a long-term physical health condition.
Mental health can be defined as a state of mental well-being that enables a person or people to cope with stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn and work well, and contribute to their communities.
Most of these mental health issues affect working-class individuals through ever-increasing pressure and demands from the work environment. Work can be an integral part of life and a primary means of survival, contributing greatly to the livelihood and togetherness of a community.
However, mental health experts acknowledge an existing pattern of increased mental health concerns among the working-class population attributed to stress and pressure.
Susan Tashobya, a director of the RUKO counseling and wellness centre, said that the supportive work environment in Uganda has played a key role in promoting the mental health well-being of workers.
According to Tashobya, the essentially of developing effective work solutions for mental challenges among Ugandans can be achieved through creating and adopting an accommodating working environment.
She stressed that a collaborative work environment in any workplace promotes togetherness of employees, knowledge and idea sharing among workers, and support for each other to achieve individual and team success.
In a 2017 statistical study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), Uganda is ranked among the top six African countries in rates of depression disorders of 4.6%, while 2.9% live with anxiety disorders, and about 5.1% of females and 3.6% of males are affected by depression and anxiety.
These statistics reveal that most Ugandans as a country are suffering from a huge mental health issue arriving from work places that needs to be handled promptly by relevant healthcare providers and organizations especially through sensitization on work stigma, effects of work load, and prevention of work-related stress.
According to the WHO, preventing mental health conditions at work is about managing psychosocial risks in the workplace.
Employers are advised by WHO to conduct organizational initiatives that directly address working conditions and surroundings. Organizational interventions assess, reduce, or eradicate workplace mental health concerns. Organizational interventions include flexible working arrangements and frameworks to address workplace violence and harassment.
On October 10, the world comes together to celebrate World Mental Health Day, an international day for global mental health education, awareness, and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in more than 150 countries.
