By Ezra Ukanwa, Abuja

AS part of efforts to address the spate of mental health issues in workplaces, Deputy National Coordinator, Association of Nigeria Women Business Network, Mrs Angela Ajala, on Wednesday, called on employers of labour to as a matter of urgency uphold organisational culture to destigmatize mental health issues.

Ajala, who doubles as Executive Director, Ladela Schools, disclosed this at the Iam Nigeria Women Achievers Conference Award 2022, in Abuja.

She said it was important for organisations to have tips and strategies to tackle mental health, saying that mentally unstable workers make unproductive moves in work places and homes.

She said: “Mental health is part of the daily stress we go through in our lives and if we can overcome these stresses, we will be productive in our workplaces, at home even in the choices we make.

“Creating a workplace culture that values mental health does not need to be a costly endeavor.”

Also Speaking, the founder, Secure the Future Initiative, SDF, Sa’adety Adamu said it was pivotal for massive awareness campaigns.

She noted that education contributes partly in dealing with mental health, adding that is the only way people can understand the seriousness involved in mental health.

“People can understand the side effects and understand how to manage others. We can understand social skills, we can understand emotional balance. People can understand emotional intelligence.

“You can understand a lot of things until we talk about this thing called mental health. It’ll be difficult to really come to terms with signs and symptoms” she said.

She, therefore, tasked Non Governmental Organisations, Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, and other government agencies to help talk about issues bothering mental health.

The convener and Chairperson, Iam Nigeria Women Achievers, Hajih Asana Abubakar advocated for women to speak in one unity and one voice, adding that: “we need to come together and understand our challenges that to address this Challenges we must multi-task ourselves, help each other’s and uplift each others.”