Media statement 10 October 2023
Cllr Kingsley Wakelin
MMC for Corporate and Shared Services
The City of Tshwane is committed to ensuring a healthy and productive workforce. On World Mental Health Day, I would like to highlight the importance of talking about and seeking help for mental health conditions and illnesses to ensure a happy and fulfilled quality of life.
It is vital that we destigmatise mental health conditions and disorders, and share information so that employees can recognise symptoms, feel safe to report or discuss these with colleagues, friends or family, and seek help. Good mental health is vital to our overall health and well-being and needs constant attention.
Mental health conditions and illnesses can range from short-term mild disorders lasting a few weeks to severe disorders that affect people for their entire lives, which can also cause severe disability. Some of the most well-known conditions and illnesses include stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, insomnia and anorexia.
Just because you might be affected by one or more of these conditions in the short- or long-term does not mean you cannot be a top-performing employee and a fulfilled human being. The City is committed to providing all the necessary support to employees through its Employee Wellness Programme. I would like to encourage all employees to reach out to them for support, and to declare any long-term conditions that may impact on your mental health and work performance as a disability. This will enable us to better understand the needs of our employees and design support and interventions accordingly.
Let us make World Mental Day a day of awareness and empowerment for those who too often suffer in silence. Talk about mental health with colleagues, friends and family.
Let us prioritise our mental health as the key to living happy and fulfilled lives.
Enquiries:
MMC Kingsley Wakelin