World Mental Health Day 2024: Public encouraged to create mental health-friendly workplace

The Department of Health (DH) today (Oct. 10) supports World Mental Health Day 2024 and encourages members of the public to collaboratively create a mental health-friendly work environment inclusive of and accepting persons in mental recovery. 

World Mental Health Day 2024, with the theme "It is time to Prioritize Mental Health in the Workplace", encourages employers and employees to champion mental health in the workplace. 60 percent of the global population is in employment and employees spend 60 percent of their time in the workplace. Mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, are pervasive in workplaces globally, impacting productivity, attendance, and overall performance of employees.

The Government encourages private, public, educational, and non-governmental organizations to sign the Mental Health Workplace Charter organized jointly by the DH, Labor Department, and the Occupational Safety and Health Council to promote mental health in the workplace to improve the general mental health of employees in their workplace as well as the organization's productivity.

Employees experiencing mental distress from depression or anxiety should seek early assistance. They can call the Government-fully-funded, one-stop Mental Health Support Hotline 18111 to obtain immediate emotional and mental health support as well as appropriate referrals depending on the individual's need.

The Government launched the Healthy Mind Pilot Project at three District Health Centre (DHC)/District Health Centre Expresses in Aug. this year to offer free initial mental health assessments to members of the public on a trial basis at the community level. Members preliminarily assessed to have mild symptoms of depression or anxiety will be referred to non-governmental organizations for further assessment and follow-up, so that they can receive appropriate support at an early stage. For details, please refer to the website of DHC.

The Advisory Committee on Mental Health and the DH have jointly implemented a mental health promotion and public education initiative "Shall We Talk", to step up public awareness of mental well-being. The "Shall We Talk" initiative provides mental health-related information through an array of channels, such as a one-stop dedicated website, social media pages, campaigns, TV and radio programs, as well as various offline events.

Apart from providing the public with information on mental health and advice on dealing with mental distress, the one-stop website also compiles a series of mental health hotlines and support services to enable those in need to seek help. For more information on mental health, please visit the website.

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