Opening Address at Silver Ribbon Mental Health Awards Ceremony 2024

Gan Siow Huang, Minister of State for Manpower, PSB Academy

Ms Ellen Lee, President, and Board Members of Silver Ribbon (Singapore),
Dr Holly Shaw, Chair of United Nations NGO Committee for Mental Health,
Dr Tsuyoshi Akiyama, President, World Federation for Mental Health,
Distinguished Guests.

Introduction
1. Good morning! I am very happy to join you at today’s Silver Ribbon Mental Health Awards Ceremony 2024.

2. Today, we celebrate 42 individuals, community organisations and workplaces for championing mental well-being and health. This collective effort will take us one step closer to achieving our vision of a stronger mental health ecosystem, where individuals can seek help early, without stigma. 

3. One of the award winners, Lih Pyng, founder of Beauty & The Biz, has been exemplary in raising awareness of mental health and combating mental health stigma. As an influencer, Lih Pyng uses her social media platform to share her lived experiences,, host talks and dialogues to promote awareness of mental health issues, and inspires others in need to seek early help. Well done, Lih Pyng!

4. Our youths have also been actively playing their part, as exemplified by a group of students from Raffles Girls School. Under Project Praesidio (pronounce as “pre-si-dio”), they have co-written a picture book – Pat and Friend’s Journey, which educates children and youths about mental health. They also raised funds to print 60 copies which were distributed to Primary Schools and The National Library. In March this year, they hosted a mental health webinar for fellow youths which was very well-received and even motivated a participant to seek further help. Cheers to Chloe Lim, Chloe Low, Claire, Clarice, Eva, Patricia, Shane, Sophia and Rachel!

First anniversary of Well-being Champions Network

5. Companies have an important role to play too. Ultimately, a work environment that promotes mental well-being benefits both employees and employers. It helps foster employee loyalty and retention, and also enables employees to be more productive at work.

6. A key national programme to support employers in fostering workplace mental well-being and health is the Well-being Champions Network. At their own workplaces, these Champions rally their senior management and colleagues on the importance of mental well-being and health, organise beneficial activities and curate resources for fellow employees. Coming together as a Network, they form a community to exchange best practices and promote collaboration across workplaces. 

7. Recently, together with the Singapore Red Cross, the Well-being Champions Network launched the Well-being First Responder training programme, which equips individuals with skills to empathise with others who are experiencing mental distress and advocate for mental well-being in the workplace.

8. Today, the Network of Well-being Champions celebrates its first anniversary. The community has grown from 70 Well-being Champions at launch to more than 500, representing over 210,000 employees. 

9. One organisation that has benefitted from the Network is The Bone Marrow Donor Programme, a charity dedicated to saving lives as Singapore’s only marrow donor registry. Committed to fostering staff well-being and inclusivity, they now have 7 staff from management and HR trained as Well-being First Responders. These staff are equipped with the skills and confidence to provide support to colleagues who are in need, including cultivating a culture of looking out for each other, as well as self-care.

10. I would like to encourage more companies to join the Network of Well-being Champions. This will collectively expand our community of practice, and enhance mental well-being and health practices at the workplace overall.

Providing Support for Employees with and at-risk of Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace

11. For most employees, basic mental well-being support is sufficient to cope with workplace stresses. For others facing challenging mental health conditions, more support may be required. Employers have told us they are often at a loss on how to support such employees, especially in helping them return to work.

12. I am happy to share that the WSH Council’s Mental Well-being Workgroup, comprising representatives from tripartite partners, social service agencies and voluntary welfare organisations, has developed a set of “Guidelines on Providing Support for Employees with and at risk of Mental Health Conditions”. This will be a useful resource for employers to help their employees who are facing or recovering from mental health conditions. The draft guidelines are open for public consultation today.

13. The essence of the guidelines can be distilled into 3 ‘R’s:
a) Recognise
b) Refer
c) Re-integrate

14. The first ‘R’ is to Recognise the signs of mental health conditions among employees.

15. This begins with educating employees on mental well-being and health, so that we can de-mystify the issue, recognise that ups and downs are a normal part of life, and have a common language to understand and talk about it. Employees should be aware of early signs of mental health issues, and initiate discussion with their supervisors to seek help. At the same time, supervisors should treat these discussions with sensitivity and maintain confidentiality.

16. Even so, not we know that not every employee may be aware of or comfortable with discussing their personal struggles. In such cases, having trained supervisors and peer supporters in the workplace can help in spotting early signs of distress or deviation from normal behaviours, before the situation escalates.

17. This brings me to the second ‘R’ – Refer employees who need more assistance, for professional help. Employers can subscribe to an Employee Assistance Programme, or EAP, which provides professional assistance to employees with personal or work-related issues that may adversely impact their physical health, work performance, and mental and psychological well-being.

18. Lastly, the third ‘R’ is to Reintegrate employees back to work.

19. Work can help in the recovery journey by giving employees confidence and a sense of purpose. Nevertheless, re-integration should be done with care and sensitivity.

20. Employers can help by having an early discussion with the returning employee. Together, the employer and employee can also explore if any adjustment is needed, such as managing workload, to enable the individual to work productively and healthily.

21. One company that has led the way is Animal & Avian Veterinary Clinic or AAVC, a member of the Well-being Champions Network and one of today’s award winners. AAVC currently employs 2 individuals with mental health conditions. AAVC has a trusting relationship with its employees, and does not require them to produce medical certificates when attending their clinical appointments. AAVC also practices offers  flexible work arrangements, and schedules their staff to attend mental health workshops. I would like to give AAVC a big round of applause for your commitment to inclusiveness and employee care!

Conclusion

22. As a society, we have come a long way in tackling the issue of mental well-being and health. There is now increased recognition of the importance of mental health. Beyond that, we should continue equipping ourselves with the knowledge and competencies to support our own, as well as others’ mental well-being and health.

23. Our award winners have shown us the way. Thank you again for your inspiring stories. Let us all work together to further strengthen our mental health ecosystem. With 10 October coming up, I wish everyone an early “Happy World Mental Health Day”, and a fruitful session ahead.