KU observes World Mental Health Day

The Department of Psychology of the University of Karachi conducted a community awareness session to observe World Mental Health Day 2024. The event was held at the KU’s Chinese Teachers Memorial Auditorium on Thursday.

KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi emphasized the importance of addressing issues like mental health and well-being at home and workplace. He mentioned that good mental and physical health is very important for a society as it benefits not only individuals but also organizations and particularly communities.

He said that the public, private, and corporate sectors should focus on improving the mental health of their employees so that they can produce better results. He observed that we as a nation do not like to discuss our problems with health experts, which is not a good sign at all. People should realize that treatment is necessary for good health.

“There is a need to create awareness among people that mental illness is treatable like other physical diseases.”

On this occasion, the Dean of the College of Economics and Social Development of the Institute of Business Management, Dr Nadia Ayub, mentioned during her presentation on mental health at work that almost 60 percent of the world’s population is in work, and they have the right to a safe and healthy environment at work.

She suggested that work can protect mental health by providing a livelihood, a sense of confidence, purpose, and achievement, an opportunity for positive relationships and inclusion in a community, and a platform for structured routines, among many other benefits.

According to her, safe and healthy working environments are not only a fundamental right but are also more likely to minimize tension and conflicts at work and improve staff retention, work performance, and productivity.

Conversely, she added that a lack of effective structures and support at work, especially for those living with mental health conditions, can affect a person’s ability to enjoy their work and do their job well. It can undermine people’s attendance at work and even stop people from getting a job in the first place.

Dr Nadia shared that work can be a setting that amplifies wider issues that negatively affect mental health, including discrimination and inequality based on factors such as race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, social origin, migrant status, religion, or age.

She said that people with severe mental health conditions are more likely to be excluded from employment, and when in employment, they are more likely to experience inequality at work. Being out of work also poses a risk to mental health. Unemployment, job and financial insecurity, and recent job loss are risk factors for suicide attempts.

She further said that the government, employers, the organizations that represent workers and employers, and other stakeholders responsible for workers’ health and safety can help to improve mental health at work through action to prevent work-related mental health conditions by preventing the risks to mental health at work, protect and promote mental health at work, support workers with mental health conditions to participate and thrive in work and create an enabling environment for change.

The KU Chairperson of the Department of Psychology Professor Dr Anila Amber Malik believed that a safe and healthy environment can act as protective factors for mental health, while unhealthy conditions, including discrimination, harassment, and other poor conditions, can pose significant risks affecting mental health and overall quality of life.

She added that supporting mental health in the workplace is no longer a nice-to-have, but a necessity.