A healthy worker is a productive worker : a study on mental health policy at the workplace in the Maltese islands

Abstract

The objective of this qualitative research study is to explore in detail whether or not companies in the Maltese Islands have a mental health policy in place and to identify in which ways mental wellbeing at the workplace is being safeguarded. This topic is worthy of investigation because mental ill-health at the workplace is a challenge that many workers encounter at one point or another in their life. To achieve the objective of this study, 8 one-to-one semistructured interviews were conducted with officers/managers who occupy senior level positions at local private companies. The themes that emerged from the data were analysed using the thematic analysis approach.

From the interviews conducted for this research study it resulted that the informants view mental health problems at the workplace as a mental state of not being able to go to work, or perform or work properly. Most of the participants believe that these problems can be caused by both work- and personal-related issues. Half of the respondents that participated in this study have a written mental health policy in place. It was observed during the study that companies that do not have a policy in place still supported their employees when the latter were going through mental health challenges.

This research study has demonstrated and confirmed that an employer can implement a number of measures to safeguard the employees’ mental wellbeing. A number of initiatives emerged from this study, including awareness and prevention campaigns, training sessions targeted to both managers and employees, support such as referral assistance, time-off or financial assistance and Employee Assistance Programme. Overall, these findings conclude that in Malta there a number of companies that have implemented a mental health policy and that mental wellbeing at these workplaces is being safeguarded through different initiatives.