26 November 2020

On 14 November 2020, the Ministry of Manpower, National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation (together, “Tripartite Partners”) jointly released the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Well-being at Workplaces. The Tripartite Advisory provides practical guidance on measures that employers can adopt to support their employees’ mental well-being, with resources that employers, employees and self-employed persons can tap on.

In a press release issued by the Tripartite Partners, it was noted that workplaces that promote workers’ mental well-being are more likely to observe increased productivity and reduced absenteeism. The press release also highlighted that with workplaces adopting work-from-home arrangements due to the recent Covid-19 outbreak, the line between work and home has blurred, leading to employees feeling more stressed and facing a higher risk of burnout.

In order to support their employees’ mental well-being, the Tripartite Advisory encourages employers to adopt the following practices:

  • Appoint mental wellness champions to raise employees’ awareness on mental well-being and mental health conditions through talks and workshops; 
  • Provide access to counselling services such as Employee Assistance Programmes to allow employees to speak to a professional on work and
    non-work related challenges; 
  • Train managers to spot signs of mental distress, and on where they can refer employees to seek help; and 
  • Recognise the need for employees to have adequate rest outside work hours by establishing a work-life harmony policy to provide clarity on after-hours work communication.

Reference materials

The following materials are available on the MOM website www.mom.gov.sg: