[Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: World Day for Safety and Health at Work

Read: 3 John 2

Meditation verse:

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your  soul prospers” (3 John 2).

It’s world day for safety and health at work and I will be focusing on mental  health issues in the workplace. On March 24, 2015, news broke that a young co pilot for Lufthansa’s low cost-airline Germanwings had intentionally crashed a  passenger jet into the French Alps, killing himself, 144 passengers and 5 other  crew members. The young co-pilot, who had previously been treated for suicidal  tendencies and declared “unfit to work” by a doctor, kept this information from  his employer and reported for work. Shortly after reaching cruising altitude,  whilst the captain was out of the cockpit, he locked the cockpit door and  initiated a controlled descent until the aircraft collided with a mountainside. He was not suffering from a physical ailment when he plunged that aircraft into the  French Alps, he was suffering from a mental health issue. Investigations revealed  he had been suffering from deep depression. One member of an organization  had a mental health issue, but many paid dearly for it.  

Organizations tend to focus on physical health much more than they do on  mental health, maybe because physical conditions are visible to the naked eye whilst mental health issues aren’t, but they are as damaging, if not more so.  Before Covid, employee mental health was arguably treated as an afterthought.  Discussions on employee wellbeing and mental health are no longer exercises in  futility. They should be a core part of HR concerns in the post covid workplace.  

Our workplaces need to normalize discussions on mental health and address  issues around it directly and persistently. That way employees will be encouraged to seek support when they feel the need to. Employee Assistance  Programs should adequately provide the essentials needed to support  employees. Line managers now have an expanded role, they would need to be  trained with the counselling skills needed to respond to and care for their teams. Leadership at all levels must model a caring and inclusive culture through their  communications and day to day actions. Mental health at work is now  mainstream. Happy World Day for Safety and Health at Work!

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

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