By Sani Sa’i’du Baba
My dear country men and women, my discussion today will be based on the popular adage, “health is wealth”. I will however, begin by clarifying what health is. Many believe that being healthy is to be physically strong and fit. No. There is another aspect of health that is less talked about in today’s Nigeria.
But then, what is the correct meaning of health? It is the complete mental and physical wellbeing of an individual, but not necessarily the absence of disease or impairment. The human being is a combination of mental and physical states. Hence, total health and wellbeing of any individual is ultimately dependent on the relationship that exits between these two states. Lack of any of the two or their disconnection will lead to illness even if the individual is seen as apparently healthy. The implication of mental illness on productivity is very obvious even if the individual is physically healthy. For example, depression has been known to impair job performance, leading to presenteeism.
My write up today is triggered by a 2013 report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, United Kingdom on attaining equality between mental and physical health. The report emphasized the significant disparities that exist between mental and physical healthcare. Based on my understanding, the findings of the report are not peculiar to the United Kingdom. In Nigeria, the subject of mental health is often culturally evaded; as many people are not usually inclined to discussing it openly. The reality however, is that, mental health statistics in Nigeria is alarming.
According to a report, the prevalence of mental illness in Nigeria is in the range of 20%. In the same 2013, the World Bank reported that relative to a population of about 174 million, 64 million Nigerians are deemed to suffer from one form of mental illness or another. You can imagine what the statistics is close to a decade now considering that all the factors leading to such problems seem to be exacerbated rather than attenuated.
The World Health Organization (2001) famously defines mental health as a state of being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make meaningful contribution to his or her community. The workplace on the other hand, is a platform for different psychological experiences in terms of providing a sense of time structure, developing social contact, fostering a sense of collective purpose, forging social identity outside the family and maintaining a level of consistent activity. The WHO also states that, at least, one in four people will develop one or more mental illness or behavioural disorder in their lifetime, and that one in four families has a member suffering from a mental illness or behavioural disorder. This makes it necessary to create interventions that will foster positive mental health. To be mentally unhealthy signifies a psychological state that results in behavioural anomalies that affect daily functions.
Mental health problems may be associated with genetics, environmental stressors, psychological factors, brain defects, substance abuse among others.
The issue of mental health illnesses is worsened by the poor political disposition of the Nigerian government and politicians, and the inability to review the antiquated colonial legislations that still regulate mental health in major respects. For instance, just few days ago, Kaduna State governor sacked 233 teachers from the Kaduna State civil service. This means that more than 1000 family members are needlessly disconnected from their source of food, especially in a period in which decent meal is impossible to many families. This action can lead to severe form of mental illness. So the high rate of mental illness in Nigeria is linked to the many socio-economic problems which may be regarded as precipitating factors. These factors include poverty with accompanying inflation, insecurity, anti-people policies and other social problems.
Mental health, just like physical health, is not confined to certain geo-polities or social strata. It is an issue that has the potential to affect anyone, male or female, young or old, rich or poor. It is indeed everyone’s business. This fact validates mental health as a complex, yet current and important issue for human resource managers, and the workplace in its entirety. This is because organizations do not exist in a vacuum, employees are not recruited from outer space, but from the environment within which organizations exist. Hence, the indices of mental health pertaining to Nigeria, should be of concern to Nigerian workplaces. Beyond this, the workplace itself is an environment that poses significant impact on mental health. Thus, organizations should be proactively pre-occupied with promoting and ensuring both physical and mental health, as a healthy workforce potentially translates into a healthy organization in terms of performance or productivity.
The most common misconceptions about mental health illness are damaging and pervasive. Some of these misconceptions are that people with mental illnesses are dangerous and violent; that mental illness is the same as mental retardation; that mental health problems are a result of poor parenting; that it is impossible to recover from mental illness; that persons with mental health problems cannot work; that lack of personal hygiene and physical un-attractiveness are indicators of mental illness and unintelligent persons are prone to mental illnesses.
Most of these misconceptions have however, been disproved as being unfounded and can thus be regarded as largely being unscientific or unverifiable.
Another factor that contributes to the complex nature of mental health/illness in Nigeria is the depiction of mental illness by the media. In recent years, technology has become a platform to access information and clarify misconceptions; but it has not been reasonably optimized as regards sensitizing people about mental health issues in Nigeria. There is little education and enlightenment that is accorded the subject. For instance, amongst the Hausa ethnic group in Nigeria, whenever you mention depression or mental health, the first thing that usually come to mind is “one is mad” (Mahaukaci ko Hauka in Hausa language). Similarly, in Yoruba ethnic group in Nigeria, a common belief is that depression and other mental illnesses (àrùn opolo in Yoruba language) is equal to ‘sychosis (wèrè which literally means mad) and is also equal to mental retardation (òdè or ‘òdòyò). Likewise in Igbo language, depression or mental health in general could imply that one is totally mad (Ara, in Igbo language). This implies that persons with depression or any similar disorders, may be corporately labelled, as being mad. Erroneous notions, such as this, encourage stigmatization and discourage mentally ill persons from speaking out and seeking help. The admission of mental illness by victims will usually lead to the extension of stigmatization to family members. It could even affect the ability of a family member to get married. Hence, the collateral damage associated with mental health has resulted in a trend of isolating mentally ill persons from their families and the larger society.
It is imperative to stress that it is not only bad government policies in work places that can lead to depression. The internal environment of a workplace has great potential for promoting or hindering the mental health of individuals. Hence, physical characteristics such as lighting, ventilation, work space, sanitation and noise levels of the workplace, potentially have psychological effects on employees. The culture or practices within organizations, especially private work places in Nigeria could affect mental health, hence, the need to develop practices that are employee-centric. Such practices that could impact the mental health of employees negatively are many. For instance, the recapitalization policy of commercial banks in Nigeria has encouraged the practice of institutionalizing unrealistic and outrageous sales targets. As a result of the relatively high rate of unemployment in Nigeria, many employees of such banks are left with little or no alternative but to comply with these demands. The consequences attributable to such a scenario usually manifests in the distortion of the psychological wellbeing of employees.
Another issue that is more often than not seen very closely relates to private school teachers, who teach four subjects and sometimes more than that, and would be paid peanuts per month. A typical case of one person doing the job of five people alone, subjected to chronic overwork and stress that will definitely leads to depression or even more severe mental health issue.
Another example is the issue of job security in the Nigerian workplace. A perspective to this is that organizations are constantly looking for fresh talent to enhance their bottom line. However, in such circumstances, employees who may have served an organization for several years but do not necessarily possess premium academic qualifications, may harbour the fear of being displaced by younger talents who may have had access to international education and training. This type of situation, which is quite prevalent in Nigeria, has apparent implications for mental health of individuals. The interplay of interactions is crucial to the day to day running of any organization. Situations where interpersonal relations in the workplace are problematic, particularly in terms of conflicts, exclusion by superiors or co-workers and a lack of social support, could potentially hamper an individual’s mental wellbeing. A typical Nigerian workplace is usually populated by diverse cultures and personality types. This type of context represents a potential source of conflict or poor interpersonal relations that could lead to depression.
Since competitive advantage is elusive without the physical and mental health of employees, organizations must be fully committed to creating a cultural climate that promotes civility, equity, transparency, work-life balance and health promotion. The workplace is an ideal environment to erase ignorant stereotypes, shallow misconceptions and raise the profile of mental health. A starting point on the way forward is the introduction of mental health promotion, initiatives and policies.
In terms of interventions, the Nigerian workplace will benefit immensely from education and awareness on the pervasiveness of mental health problems, common misconceptions and lifestyle choices that will foster positive mental health. Education and awareness interventions must be based on pertinent themes such as active living/fitness, healthy eating, cessation of alcohol intake and smoking, managing workload and interpersonal relations, adapting to changes, managing realities constructively, building emotional stability, developing resilience and seeking counseling.
The health equation is only balanced if both mentally and physically conditions are weighed at par.
