BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Brunei Darussalam has begun piloting a “Work-Life Balance Policy for All Workplaces”, a key mental health reform initiative aimed at strengthening employee wellbeing across both the public and private sectors.
A two-day policy design workshop, held from January 27 to 28 at the Banquet Hall of the Prime Minister’s Office building, is led by the Ministry of Health (MoH) through its Mental Health Strategy Unit under the Health Promotion Centre, in collaboration with the Prime Minister’s Office, the Public Service Department (JPA), the Labour Department, and with support from the Safety, Health and Environment National Authority (SHENA).
The initiative is identified as a priority action under the Mental Health Action Plan 2022–2025 and will be carried forward into the National Mental Health Action Plan 2026–2030, which is currently in the planning stage.
The workshop was officially opened by Acting Director of Administration and Finance at the Ministry of Health Mohammad Bakhtiar Ibrahim, representing Acting Permanent Secretary Dr Rafidah Gharif.
In his address, he said the pilot reflects a national vision where mental health and wellbeing in the workplace are valued, promoted and protected, with employees able to work in environments that are positive, safe, healthy and supportive.
“We often envision a workplace culture where every individual has equal access to optimal mental wellbeing, free from fear, discrimination or stigma, supported by leaders who are attentive to the welfare of their staff,” he said.
He acknowledged that implementing a comprehensive work-life balance policy across all workplaces would not be easy, but stressed that it is both timely and necessary, particularly amid increasingly complex social and economic pressures.
The initiative, he added, aligns with the Sultan's speech in conjunction with the start of 2026, in which the monarch reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to prioritising economic progress alongside the wellbeing of the people through policy improvements and reforms.
The workshop also supports the nation’s Public Service Transformation agenda, particularly efforts to reshape workplace culture by fostering a civil service that is not only efficient, responsive and integrity-driven, but also mentally healthy and resilient.
The opening session featured experience-sharing presentations from organising agencies, covering mental health and wellbeing in Bruneian workplaces, work-life harmony in the civil service, challenges and opportunities in the private sector, and psychosocial risks from a workplace safety and health perspective.
Participants also attended a lecture titled “Work-Life Balance as an Islamic Ethical Imperative for Mental Health in the Workplace”, delivered by Ustaz Muhammad Yussof bin Haji Abdul Majid from the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Best practices in implementing work-life balance policies in Brunei were shared by Standard Chartered Bank Brunei and Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC).
The workshop, attended by 80 participants from government agencies and the private sector, includes group discussions facilitated by the Human Resource Society of Brunei Darussalam to refine policy proposals.
Organisers said the pilot policy aims to help create workplaces that are safer, more inclusive and supportive, where employees’ rights are protected, risks are reduced, and access to mental healthcare is available without stigma, in line with a “Whole of Nation” approach to national development. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
