On average, every working Zimbabwean spends one-third of their life at work. This is a lot of time employees are exposed to work-related stresses. Moreover, the COVID- 19 pandemic exacerbated the risk of Mental Health (MH) conditions and aggravated pre-existing ones. Yet, aspects that affect job performance, such as psychological wellbeing, remain largely unaddressed at the workplace. Most companies have very limited MH and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services offered in the workplace. Since employees do not have the basic skills to screen themselves, there is a risk for people, if not properly and timely addressed, to experience severe MH conditions. A workforce struggling with severe MH conditions affects productivity for the employer and national economy. The limited MHPSS in the workplace is a result of the treatment gap in Zimbabwe. The country only has 19 psychiatrists and 35 clinical psychologists against a population of 15 million.
Therefore, to address the MHPSS care gap, the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), with support from the Friendship Bench (FB) and the World Health Organization (WHO), developed a training programme called “MH in the workplace,” to improve and increase access to MHPSS services in the workplace. This program trains in Problem-Solving Therapy, a brief intervention that has been shown to significantly reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
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