Trade unionists are calling for urgent reforms to address mental health challenges in the workplace, warning that stress, burnout, bullying, poor communication and weak management practices are taking a serious toll on employees across both the public and private sectors.
Their comments come against the backdrop of concerns raised last week by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Wayne Webster, who said thousands of Barbadians were seeking assistance from the Psychiatric Hospital due in part to workplace-related pressures.
General secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), Toni Moore, told the MIDWEEK NATION while there was some progress, far more was needed if workers were to feel truly safe and supported.
“Some workplaces are making progress in addressing employee mental health, but not at the pace or depth that workers need. We cannot honestly say that enough is being done while workers continue to report stress, burnout, harassment, poor communication, unsafe work environments and other pressures that affect their mental and emotional well-being,” she said.
She stressed that mental health must be recognised as a core occupational safety issue rather than something separate from workplace standards.
“A workplace cannot be considered truly safe if workers are physically protected but mentally overwhelmed, unsupported or afraid to speak.”
Moore noted that the BWU had long championed a wider approach to wellness and initially spearheaded the National Workplace Wellness Policy, developed with Professor Dwayne Devonish and later adopted by Government as the national framework for workplace wellness.
She said education remained a critical part of the union’s strategy through the Frank Walcott Labour College, where workshops and training sessions were regularly offered.
Moore argued that employers now needed to move beyond symbolic discussions about wellness and make mental health part of everyday workplace systems.
“That means proper risk assessments that include psychosocial risks, access to counselling or employee assistance services, stronger antiharassment policies, better training for supervisors, confidential reporting systems, reasonable workloads and a culture where workers can raise concerns without fear of victimisation,” she said.
“The BWU’s position is that progress is being made, but we are not satisfied. Mental health in the workplace requires continuous action, not one-off programmes. It requires employers, workers, the union and the State to treat mental well-being as a core part of occupational safety and health.
That is where Barbados must go.”
General secretary of Unity Workers’ Union, Caswell Franklyn, said many workplaces were directly contributing to employees’ emotional distress and only reacted when problems became severe.
“They do not see mental health issues as a problem until it gets extreme where the person has to be admitted. Depression and things like that, people just dismiss,” he said.
He criticised the quality of counselling support available to workers, describing many services as inadequate.
“The counselling services they have in Barbados are poor; they are not up to standard,” he charged.
Franklyn said bullying and lack of empathy by people in authority were major contributors to workplace stress.
“You have too much bullying going on in the workplace and you have people without empathy.”
Denied support
He cited cases involving single mothers and workers with young children who were denied flexibility and support.
“You have people who have to care for their children and they are not accommodated. You cannot put workers in impossible situations and then expect them to function properly.”
He added: “I see too many people at my desk crying – not only in the private sector, in the public service too. You have a lot of people suffering and nobody is looking at them . . . .
“We promote the wrong people. Too many people in positions of authority
have no empathy, no sympathy, no love. That is where we have the issues in Barbados today.”
General secretary of the National Union of Public Workers, Richard Green, said employers first needed to understand the distinction between mental health and mental illness.
“Not knowing the difference can confuse the issue and skew the way in which mental illness is addressed,” he noted.
He said the NUPW would be urging employers in the Public Service and state-owned enterprises to introduce stronger support systems based on growing evidence of mental health pressures.
“As much as we have addressed occupational safety and health related to the physical challenges and threats against workers in the workplace, the issue of mental health needs a similar type of address for workers,” he suggested.
Green proposed wellness programmes, flexible work arrangements, improved work-life balance, greater job security, quicker appointments and confirmations, more efficient systems and greater use of technology to reduce unnecessary stress.
“There should also be a look at supervisory relations in the workplace, making sure that supervisors receive greater training to be more compassionate and more understanding in giving instruction and in supervising workers.”
Meanwhile, chair of the National Mental Health Commission, Dr Maisha Emmanuel, said mental health must be treated as an essential component of workplace safety, as Barbados observed World Day For Safety And Health At Work yesterday.
“When we talk about creating safe and healthy workplaces, we must include mental and psychosocial well-being alongside physical safety. Work-related stress, burnout, harassment and violence are occupational health hazards just as chemical exposure, unsafe machinery or poor ergonomics are,” she said.
Emmanuel warned that poor mental health in the workplace created serious safety risks, noting that stress, anxiety and depression could reduce concentration, slow reaction times, impair judgement and decrease situational awareness, increasing the likelihood of accidents and injuries.
“Too many Barbadian workers are struggling with excessive workloads, long hours, workplace bullying, lack of support and job insecurity. These psychosocial hazards are as real and dangerous as any physical hazard and they must be addressed with the same seriousness and urgency,” she said. (TRY)
