PETALING JAYA: Work pressure, excessive workloads and workplace relationships are among the psychosocial concerns raised by employees, with the public service sector recording the highest number of complaints received by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH).
DOSH director-general Hazlina Yon (pic) said the complaints included pressure from supervisors or management, excessive workloads, unprofessional communication, unfair treatment and failures by management to act on workers’ grievances.
She said the complaints showed that workplace mental health could no longer be viewed simply as a personal problem faced by individual employees.
“Psychosocial risks can occur in all sectors.
“However, based on the complaints received by DOSH so far, the public service sector has recorded the highest number of complaints related to psychosocial risks at the workplace,” she told The Star in an interview.
Hazlina said the situation highlighted the need to pay closer attention to issues such as work stress, service demands and relationships between employees and management.
She said that a psychologically unsafe workplace is one where psychosocial risk factors are not effectively managed to the extent that they affect workers’ safety, health and well-being.
Among the risks identified under DOSH’s Guidelines on Psychosocial Risk Assessment and Management at the Workplace (PRisMA) 2024 are work stress, excessive workloads, harassment, bullying, conflicts with superiors and a lack of organisational support.
Based on complaints received by DOSH, 48 psychosocial-related complaints were recorded last year.
However, the department said 77.1% of the complaints investigated were found to be unsubstantiated, while 22.9%, or 11 complaints, were found to have merit.
Hazlina said employers had a primary responsibility to ensure that workplaces were safe and healthy both physically and mentally.
She said under Section 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Act 514), it is the responsibility of employers, as far as is practicable, to ensure the safety, health and welfare of their workers.
Hazlina said this responsibility extended to managing psychosocial risks through proper risk assessments, effective complaint mechanisms, workload management and appropriate support for employees.
“Employers need to ensure that every complaint is handled appropriately and effectively.
“Workplace safety and health committees also have an important role to play by providing a platform for psychosocial issues to be discussed and resolved before they escalate to the point where they affect workers’ mental health, well-being and ability to perform their duties,” she stressed.
Hazlina said DOSH could consider enforcement action under the Act 514 if there was evidence that an employer had failed to act on workers’ complaints or failed to manage psychosocial risks to the extent that workers’ safety and health were affected.
“PRisMA 2024 was developed to help employers identify, assess and control psychosocial risks at the workplace, in line with the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994,” she said.
She said that awareness of mental health in the workplace is increasing, but some organisations still view it as an individual problem rather than part of their occupational safety and health responsibilities.
She said PRisMA 2024 clarifies that mental health and psychosocial risks form part of the broader occupational safety and health agenda.
“All parties, including employers, supervisors and occupational safety and health practitioners, need to play a proactive role in creating a workplace that is safe both physically and mentally,” she said.
Hazlina said that psychosocial risks are not confined to any particular sector and can occur in any workplace.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad revealed two weeks ago that the Health Ministry is drafting a workplace mental health policy aimed at creating more supportive, safe and harmonious workplaces.
