Sir, in a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003, it was reported that depression caused US companies losses of US $44 billion a year, compared to US $13 billion for other illnesses. The losses were measured in medical cost, lost productivity at work and at home and the economic worth of those who committed suicide. There is yet no equivalent study of the economic costs of depression in Singapore but a national survey, carried out in 1998, found depression plagued 272,000 – or about 8.6% of Singaporeans between the ages of 13 and 65. It is clear that there is an economic cost to depression and therefore it is important that MOM ensures that companies put in place programmes to assist their workers to cope. On the whole programmes to help deal with the mental health of our workers are less prevalent compared to programmes for dealing with their physical health.
Sir, in response to a question which I had raised on this topic, the Ministry of Manpower had said that it is developing a tool to help assess and monitor the psychological health of the workforce. The tool which measures job stress and aspects of work life balance, was being developed jointly with the tripartite partners and with the help from organisational psychology and psychiatry experts. It will be useful in recommending intervention measures that can measure workers’ psychosocial health.
Sir, I would like to ask the Minister for an update on this. I would like to ask the Minister whether the tool has been developed and what intervention measures have been put in place to help workers stay mentally healthy and fit?
