Employers increase focus on wellbeing in workplaces, amid rising mental health challenges: Experts

“What we see in the research that we’ve done this year in 2023 across 32 countries, is that we are continuing to see some big challenges in our region,” he said.

He said that, for instance, 29 per cent of employees in Singapore report signs and symptoms of burnout, a figure which is above the global average. In Indonesia, the figure is lower at 19 per cent, but “it’s still one in five people”, noted Mr Carmichael.

“What it tells us is that for every workplace, for every one of our leaders, there is a challenge that we still need to meet,” he said.

Mr Carmichael added that a country’s culture, history as well as expectations and attitudes towards mental health can have an impact too, and that no country is free from such challenges.

CORPORATE WILL AND CULTURE

“The conversation is different today than it was five years ago, and COVID accelerated that. It normalised a lot of the conversation,” said Mr Carmichael, who has been in the sector for about nine years.

Dr Low Kiang Wei, medical director of consulting and medical services at International SOS, said more companies, especially the larger ones, are prioritising the mental health of employees.