The Gen XY Lifestyle
Singapore Employers Lag in Mental Health Awareness, New Report Reveals
The ASEAN Workplace Wellbeing 2024 Report highlights critical gaps in hiring and supporting employees with mental health conditions.
Nearly half of Singapore employers are hesitant to actively hire individuals with mental health conditions, according to a new report by Intellect.
The ASEAN Workplace Wellbeing 2024 Report, which surveyed 585 HR professionals across Southeast Asia, reveals that Singapore falls behind its regional counterparts in mental health awareness and support, unintentionally perpetuating stigma and discrimination.
Key Findings
- Hesitation to Hire: 45 percent of Singaporean employers are hesitant to hire individuals with mental health conditions, while 26 percent are unsure whether their companies do so.
- Regional Leaders: In contrast, smaller Southeast Asian markets like Vietnam (86 percent), Thailand (87 percent), and the Philippines (65 percent) lead the region in actively hiring individuals with mental health conditions.
- Inclusive Hiring Policies: Despite claiming high rates of inclusive hiring policies (89 percent) and workplace adjustments (78 percent), nearly half of Singaporean employers hesitate to hire those facing mental health challenges.
- Non-Disclosure Practices: The Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) discourage asking job applicants to disclose personal information, including mental health conditions, unless job-related. This results in many employers not actively hiring individuals with mental health conditions due to non-disclosure practices.
Positive Shifts and Persistent Gaps
The report highlights a positive shift in how ASEAN organisations manage mental health and wellbeing. HR professionals are increasingly prioritising communication on mental health and neurodiversity inclusion (56 percent) and training managers on mental health literacy (56 percent).
However, despite the rollout of mental health initiatives and leadership training, gaps remain in inclusive hiring. Most organisations (65 percent) have introduced mental health literacy and awareness training for employees, and 60 percent have implemented wellbeing policies. Yet, the scope and impact of these resources vary significantly across countries.
Challenges in Singapore
In Singapore, key obstacles to hiring individuals with mental health conditions include limited mental health awareness (24 percent), negative employee attitudes (10 percent), and management’s reluctance to accommodate flexible working conditions (5 percent).
While Singapore rightfully restricts employers from asking specific questions around the mental health of candidates, our findings indicate there remains a significant gap in both awareness and willingness to accommodate employees with mental health challenges.
Theodoric Chew, Co-founder & CEO of Intellect
Regional Comparisons and Employee Engagement
The report reveals that organisations in Thailand lead Southeast Asia in offering comprehensive mental health programs (23 percent). In Singapore, less than one in five (15 percent) HR professionals report that their companies offer comprehensive mental health resources. Alarmingly, only 5 percent of Singaporean employees actively engage with available mental health services, far below the regional average of 47 percent.
Steps to Improve Mental Health Support
To enhance inclusive hiring and supportive practices in the workplace, the report recommends:
- Training for Recruiters and Managers: Providing training on how to effectively assess and accommodate candidates with diverse needs.
- Accessible Mental Health Resources: Ensuring mental health resources are readily available and tailored to meet employees’ needs.
- Corporate Symmetrical Communication: Improving engagement with mental health resources through effective communication between organizations and employees.
As Singapore shifts the responsibility of mental health care from hospitals to the community, workplaces play a critical role in providing essential mental health support. Leaders and HR professionals must champion organisation-wide efforts to meet the needs of both the organization and its employees.
Theodoric Chew, Co-founder & CEO of Intellect
Infographics provided by Intellect.
To learn more about this research or to download the full report, visit here.
