Career Guidance and Counseling Centre has organized a webinar entitled “Prioritizing Mental Health at Workplace” on October 25th, 2024. Five panelists were invited to highlight various aspects of Mental Health at the workplace. Mrs Samina Uzair moderated the session and Dr Sajda Naz from Fatima Jinnah Women University; Mr John from Centre for Collective Wisdom, USA; Ms Anqa Gharshin from BUTTEMS, Quetta; Dr Uzma Ashiq Khan from Lahore College for Women University and Mr Faheem-ud-din from the University of Swat.
In the panel discussion, the importance of mental health at the workplace and the manifestation of mental health issues in employees, early signs, and the role of institutions in destigmatization of mental health issues, barriers in help seeking and best practices for prevention and improvement in accessibility to the services were discussed. Furthermore, the signs and causes of burnout and what are the steps that should be taken to create work-life balance. The importance of trainings and integration of different soft skills like team building and assertiveness were beautifully explained in the session. Mr John explained how institutions/organizations can foster a harassment-free culture by working on different dimensions of change, he also highlighted the interplay of individual and community factors that promote an open and healthy culture. The expert on Gender issues highlighted specific Gender-related mental health issues at the workplace. She also highlighted laws and policies that are designed for workplace harassment.