On the occasion of World Mental Health Day coinciding on 10th October each year Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development attended the launch of the “Positive Mental Health Guide in Workplace”.

The guide is prepared by the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) and the Ministry of Community Development (MoCD) in line with the objectives of the National Wellbeing Strategy 2031. This is aimed to promote mental health, build a healthy and positive workplace environment, and the framework of the National Policy for Promoting Mental Health to enhance the prevention of mental disorders, develop and expand the scope of services for all members of the community in addition to the effectiveness of leadership aspects in the field of mental health.

This came as part of the events which were organised by the Ministry in cooperation with its well-being partners. This included activities and educational initiatives, which support the provision of positive mental health in work environments, among family members and within the community.

Hessa Buhumaid, who is also the Chairperson of the Wellbeing Council, stressed that promoting positive mental health and well-being is a government approach derived from the vision of the UAE wise leadership, which believes that strengthening the UAE’s position in global competitiveness indicators requires great effort and responsibility to consolidate positive spirit and productivity based on work environments that have a direct impact on the economy and development of countries.

She said, “Mental health is an essential and integral part of the overall health and well-being of individuals, a state of well-being through which an individual can be able to employ their abilities to adapt to surrounding circumstances, work effectively, and contribute productively to their job position and community-wide.

“The more balanced mental health, the more effective individuals become in any society, and therefore communities are productive and contribute to the strength of the country’s economy. On this basis, the promotion, protection and mental health balance have become a vital concern for individuals and communities around the world. In the UAE, we are distinguished in this aspect, thanks to the vision of our wise leadership and government strategy who spare no effort to enhance well-being and support mental health in particular, for all the members of the society.”

The Positive Mental Health Guide in Workplace outlines the mechanism of providing psychological support to employees, within 5 main pillars based on the principle of establishing a more open culture about mental health at workplace; these pillars include: knowing the extent of the impact of mental health on employees, mental health coverage as part of the entity’s initiatives and part of the health care plan for employees, establishing programmes to help employees with mental health, disseminate the culture of mental health necessity, and promote well-being to ensure access to applications that reduce stress, field training on supportive tools for mental health, work-life balance, and create opportunities to build relationships between employees.

The guide also includes mechanisms to provide psychological support to remote workers, and provides the most prominent points that achieve communication in case there is a need for psychological support from specialists in this field.

The guide defines mental health, the types of mental disorders and their complications that may affect humans and the potential benefits of supporting mental health in terms of: increased productivity, maintaining employee continuity in the workplace, and lower healthcare costs.

As part of the World Mental Health Day event, which aims to highlight the importance of mental health, a series of awareness and educational sessions were organised, with the participation of a group of experts and partners in the field of mental health, and the presence of government executive leadership, supervisory positions and staff from government authorities, An overview of the mental health guide was presented, a presentation on the “Hayat” programme was presented by the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) in addition to two episodes of the “School of Life” initiative entitled “Mental Health Support Life Skills” and “The Importance of Mental Health for Employees” as well as a dialogue session entitled “Mental Health Support for Community Members”.

The National Programme for Happiness and Well-being also presented introductory presentations about the provided services to the members of the community, including: Life Works, Hakini, Lighthouse Arabia, Emirates Foundation and Takalam.