Emerging and developing Asian economies reflects the region’s rapid transformation from agricultural to manufacturing and services-based industries. The region’s economic growth, however, may have come at cost of its workers’ mental health. Workers in Asia spend, on average, more hours at work per week than workers outside of Asia, leading to reports of increased burnout and mental health issues. Broad, macro-level economic factors such as job insecurity, evolving labor markets and increasing use of technology in modern workplaces explain provide only a partial explanation for the rise of mental health concerns in the region. Psychological factors – particularly the work ethos and cultural acceptance of prolonged work hours may be inadvertently contributing to adverse mental health consequences among Asian workers. Any intervention aimed at addressing mental health concerns in Asian workplaces needs to account for the complex interplay between economic and psychological factors and work toward de-stigmatization of mental health concerns that remain prevalent in this region.
policy
Relate INSIGHTS 2020/03 – The Pandemic: A Greater Call for the Reformation of the Law on Attempted Suicide?
1. Create awareness on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health in Malaysia.
2. Create awareness on the growing rate of the statistics of suicide in Malaysia.
3. Explain the origin of the law criminalising attempted suicide, and countries that have since decriminalised it.
4. Affirm the urgent need for reformation of the law of attempted suicide in Malaysia.
Relate INSIGHTS 2020/01 – How Being in Nature can Promote Healthier Body Image
As many Asian nations rapidly urbanise, governments and policy-makers are having to deal with the negative impacts of urbanisation on population mental health. One cost-effective way of promoting population psychological well-being is through nature experiences, or exposure to natural environments. There is now an urgent need for authorities to protect ecological assets, such as remnant forest patches, as well the provision of, and access to, natural environments.