New handbook to guide employers in supporting staff mental health

SINGAPORE – A new handbook to help employers better support their staff’s mental health has been launched by the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council.

The recommendations in the handbook cover topics such as how to nurture a positive culture for workplace mental health, how to set up workplace support systems, and how to help employees recovering from mental health conditions return to work with confidence.

The 40-page document also features case studies from local organisations, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on how they have implemented measures that support mental health at the workplace.

The handbook’s recommendations are voluntary and flexible, and companies can adopt the practices based on their specific needs and implementation flexibility.

They were developed by a tripartite workgroup under the WSH Council’s Mental Well-being Committee following extensive consultation with unions, human resources practitioners and social service agencies.

The handbook was launched on Oct 13 at the Well-being Champions Network’s engagement session, where companies came together to discuss mental health matters at the A*Star Infuse office at Connexis.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower Shawn Huang, who was the guest of honour at the event, said that according to the Ministry of Health’s National Population Health Surveys, the prevalence of poor mental health has been broadly rising – from 12.5 per cent of the adult population to 15 per cent in 2023.

Mr Huang pointed out that Singapore has come far from a time when mental health care meant patients need to be in a custodial setting where they are institutionalised and cared for. Instead, individuals with mental health conditions can now be empowered to live independently and contribute meaningfully.

Part of the empowerment is helping them to continue to contribute at work, and many employers have asked how they can do their part to support employees.

”There is a need to fill the gap in terms of knowledge and resources – to support those who are at risk of, or recovering from, mental health conditions,” said Mr Huang.

He added: “The handbook combines insights from mental health professionals, community groups and employers, offering practical ways to create supportive policies, start meaningful conversations and make reasonable accommodations for those returning to work.”

Wee Chwee Huat Scaffolding & Construction, an SME in the construction industry, was featured in the handbook as a case study. The company, in which 75 per cent of its workforce is made up of migrant workers, places a heavy emphasis on its employees’ mental health because of the need to retain talent and ensure safety in the workplace.

This is because it takes up to two years to train a worker to be experienced in his line of work, which involves scaffolding, said the company’s operations manager, Mr V. Manimaran.

Wee Chwee Huat holds bimonthly meeting sessions where supervisors will engage migrant workers in a group setting and discuss issues affecting them, even those who are outside of the workplace.

Migrant workers often face family issues as they are far from home, and the company has allowed staff to take last-minute paid leave, or even extended unpaid leave, to fly back to their home country, if necessary.

To manage the manpower shortfall during such periods, Mr Manimaran said teammates will step in to cover shifts, while he will ensure that the workload is redistributed over several days.

“Employees who know their organisation values their well-being are more likely to stay, to grow with the company, and to contribute meaningfully in a sector where manpower stability is a challenge. This becomes a significant competitive advantage,” said Mr Manimaran.

The handbook also includes a section on frequently asked questions, addressing situations such as how to manage employees with a long leave of absence for mental health, how to approach an employee who might have engaged in self-harm, and how to handle staff who cause poor mental health among co-workers.

Employers who need more help putting the recommendations in the handbook into practice can attend Beyond the Label Collective’s Return to Work workshop, which is developed and conducted by the National University of Singapore.

The two sessions held in 2025 have equipped 42 human resources professionals with tools to support employees transitioning back to work after mental health-related absences.

More than 87 per cent of participants indicated that the workshops provided practical tools to translate policies into action, with 63 per cent expressing their intent to establish structured return-to-work systems within their organisations.

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