How an Occupational Health Center can Mend Mental Health Issues in Factories

Lurking behind the dust, smoke, and noise of the factories is the mental health of its workers. An International Labor Organization study revealed that globally, 15% of the working-age population lives with a mental disorder, and a WHO study accounts for a major share of the global mental health burden to India. These numbers just reveal the facts, news, and mere sights that we come across every single day. While most remember the WHO’s definition of health, a complete physical, social, and mental well-being, very often the same tend to disregard or perhaps forget the psychosocial aspect of it. This is why it has become increasingly important to have professional aid that can guide an organization in the path of complete wellness. An occupational health center is not simply an establishment to deal with workplace injuries or suggest ergonomic ideas for employee wellbeing, it encompasses complete health, which means that all aspects of health are focused, paid attention to, and covered. In this blog, you gain insight into the different mental health challenges faced by workers and how occupational health center services can help deal with these challenges.  

Factors Affecting the Mental Health of Workers 

Factory work is characterized by its repetitive nature, long working hours and sometimes isolated work. Lack of adequate rest, a toxic work environment, and in some cases, harassment, can exacerbate the physical toil, adding to the mental pain. The common disorders reported among Indian workers are anxiety, somatic illnesses, depression, and social dysfunction. 

The jobs of workers in Indian factories are unstable. This can lead to dissatisfaction and insecurity, causing stress and anxiety about their futures. Demanding physical work for long hours can cause fatigue and burnout. They may not have many opportunities for social interaction. Limited socialization can negatively impact a normal person, then imagine the plight of a worker who works a monotonous job for excessively long periods. 

Apart from these, there are cultural factors and stigma around mental illnesses. There is a collectivistic mindset among Indians but when it comes to work, often those set beliefs are forced to be kept aside. Having your normal pattern of values compromised can put a person’s mental state on the burner, slowing heating up to insanity. Women are often paid unequally and treated badly in the factories. Stigma against opening up about mental illnesses can cause them to hide behind their work, losing all sense of self. 

Role of an Occupational Health Center in Addressing Mental Health Issues

The following are how your employees can benefit from an occupational health center:

• An occupational health center works to establish, reinforce, and activate the occupational health and safety policies that are necessary for creating a secure work environment. Occupational health center services include proper safety training and handling of equipment and risk assessment to ensure that the environment is free of hazards.
• Occupational health center services encourage activities, and programs that allow social interaction among workers. Fostering a communal environment can lead to positive emotions and keep the workers active.
• Unsocial work hours, high work pace, high time pressures, and understaffing are some issues that can disturb the work-life balance of employees. An occupational health center promotes work-life balance by alleviating the burden on workers with good policies and effective measures. This can help in making sure that workers find a more fulfilling experience while doing their tasks.
• Active mental health support is provided by an occupational health center through counseling sessions and awareness campaigns. This can reduce stigma and the additional financial stress of having to afford mental health services.
• An occupational health center advocates for the rights of the workers, this relieves the workers from the stress of job security and wages. Addressing their work concerns can lead to a more stable work environment.
• Occupational health center services improve by constantly conducting studies and monitoring the workplace environment and the workers to figure out the solution to loopholes in the system. 

Organizational Interventions that can be Employed by an Occupational Health Center:

• Occupational health center services can redesign the work pattern, that is, employ task rotation, or set a proper limit on the working hours and enough planned breaks. Strategize to staff enough workers and work with the employer to set achievable goals, targets, or deadlines.
• Employers need to empathize with the workers. There are instances of employers/supervisors yelling or verbally abusing the workers. This can put the morale down and not have a positive impact. Workers can get discouraged and ultimately stop putting effort into work. An occupational health center can provide knowledge and guidance to supervisors on communication techniques and establish peace and clarity in the work environment. In this way, occupational health center services can improve productivity by promoting open communication, active listening, and positive employer-worker relations.
• Occupational health center services can conduct regular exercise sessions. In most factories, workers are given a hyper-specialized task that can lead to rigid body structures. This lack of movement can lead to many other health issues in the long run. It is a known fact that active physical movement can improve mental health. Implementing breaks to remind workers to move their bodies can be beneficial.
• The physical workspace and different occupational hazards can lead to mental exhaustion. To assess the work environment and bring about changes, occupational health center services can conduct a safety audit and identify issues. Ergonomic issues can be identified better if spoken to the workers as they have first-hand experience with the workplace. This kind of involvement can not only improve occupational health center services but also make the workers feel included.
• Treating workers humanely involves improving measures for their mental health. Occupational health center services can provide improved resources that can help the workers take a break from their monotonous work. For example, in a factory in Delhi, music is played to keep the workers happier and more active. 

Improving the mental health of the workers at factories is beneficial to both the employer and the worker. It is indeed a win-win situation. An occupational health center establishment can therefore help in destigmatizing mental health challenges and creating a peaceful work environment, and contribute to changing the plight of factory workers in India.