Prof Dato' Dr Andrew presenting World Mental Health Day Green ribbon to Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai, Top Glove Founder

The objectives of the Zero Harm on Mental Health programme are to promote mental health awareness and break the stigma on mental health, so a supportive, respectful and inclusive environment at the workplace can be created, while leaders, especially, must be role models in promoting corporate mental wellness, says Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai, Top Glove Founder and Executive Chairman, at the launch of the programme at Top Glove Tower in Setia Alam, Shah Alam.

Top Glove launched its inaugural Zero Harm on Mental Health programme on Sunday, 10 October 2021, in conjunction with World Mental Health Day, in an effort to raise mental health awareness in the corporate sector, promote mental wellness and break the stigma about mental health in the workplace.

Initiated by the Top Glove Global Doctors (TGGD) Mental Health Clinical and Crisis Support Team, this programme, together with the existing Zero Harm and Safety Health Emergency Preparedness Programme introduced in 2019, provides a comprehensive safety and wellness action plan for Top Glove employees.

‘Zero Harm’ is a conceptual approach to heighten the occupational safety of a workplace, whereby a workplace operates without exposing an individual to injury, through the implementation of safe work environment systems. The Zero Harm culture has been introduced at Top Glove as an additional initiative, over and above complying with safety and health requirements set out by the Department of Health and Safety (DOSH).

The Zero Harm on Mental Health programme aims to provide preventive measures through psychoeducation and training, to create awareness amongst employees and enable them to prepare themselves, identify who might be at risk, and know who they can reach out to for help. As part of the programme, there will be posters and information cards in seven (7) different languages in factories, offices and hostels on how staff and workers can reach out for help, as well as tips on how they can manage their mental wellbeing.

The TGGD Mental Health Clinical and Crisis Support Team also looks forward to rolling out this information card via the Workers Learning App, which all workers have access to. On top of that, the Zero Harm on Mental Health programme also aims to manage crisis and employees’ mental health symptoms through crisis intervention and counselling, as well as psychotherapy. The TGGD Mental Health Clinical and Crisis Team consists of a multidisciplinary team of medical as well as mental health professionals, enabling the mental wellbeing of the employees to be managed in a systemic and holistic way.

Malaysian Mental Health Association President, Professor Dato’ Dr Andrew Mohanraj, who was present at the launch, lauded the programme, saying that the Company was setting a benchmark for other companies in terms of promoting mental health.

“The relationship between mental health of employees and productivity is well established. The move by Top Glove to introduce mental health promotion and preventive measures among its staff is a pioneering effort towards workplace mental health in the corporate sector in our country,” he says.