As the world commemorates Corporate Mental Health Week, calls to bolster efforts to deal with these issues have been amplified, with the South African economy losing more than R160 billion on an annual basis. According to the 2022 Mental State of the World report, South Africa scored among the lowest average Mental Health Quotient (MHQ), with a score of nearly 20 aggregate points lower than the global average of 64.
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Spanish-speaking Latin American countries appeared to have the highest mental well-being, despite Tanzania topping the list with a score of 94.
The MHQ is a unique, comprehensive assessment of mental well-being comprised of 47 elements of mental function, including both problems that include symptoms of ten major disorders and positive assets of mental function.
In addition to the 47 scored questions, respondents answered questions relating to their demographics, life experience and lifestyle.
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Speaking to EWN, the head of healthcare leadership at the Stellenbosch Business School, Professor Renate Schoeman, said that presenteeism was a bigger problem than absenteeism in South Africa.
‘We often see it in either the lower categories where it’s no work, no pay, but also in the executive seat where people have the belief that they always need to be strong and coping, but they cannot necessarily make good decisions.’
According to Schoeman, a huge focus should also be placed on the indirect costs linked to mental health in the workplace.
‘Due to people being really worried about losing their jobs, where unemployment rate is already very high, people do not seek the necessary mental health support when they need it.’
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