INTRODUCTION

1.
Occupantional health in a workplace is very significant in order to maintain workers
health and increase productivity of the company. As prescribes in Occupational Safety and
Health Act 1994 Section 15 (1), it shall be the duty of every employer and every selfemployed person to ensure, so far as is practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of
all his employees.1 Health issues in the workplace have been issues that being discussed and
debated as the number of health illness are increasing yearly.2 With the effect of economy turn
down locally and globally, it may also affect the worker well-being and mentally work
without taking care of their health in order to sustain daily life and survive.
2.Health hazard is one of the hazards that need to be identified in workplace. Failing to
identify these hazards will result other type of injuries and in worst-case may result with
fatality. Working associated with health hazard may cause the occupational diseases or may
aggravate to existing ill-health of non-occupational origin. Malaysia as a developing country
has increasingly mechanized especially in industrial sector and workers as the production
tools has put their life into health risk.
3.
Among the potential health hazard that can be identified in industrial sector are air
contaminants, chemical toxicities, biological hazard from virus, bacteria and fungi, physical
hazard such as excessive level of noise, vibration, radiation and ergonomic hazard such as
Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) and Cumulative Trauma Disorder (CTD). Recently, the
number of psychosocial hazard such as mental illness and mental disorder has increasingly
resulted and pose anxiety to the employer or company management.3
PROBLEM STATEMENT
4.Mental Health or Illness has increasingly recently due to problem raise such as mental
stress, depression, anxiety and etc. This phenomenon creates psychosocial issue especially in
a developing country. An analysis on health hazard with regards to mental health and factors
contributed is needed in order to find suitable solution on this phenomenon.
DEFINITION
5.
World Health Organization defines positive mental health as a state of well-being in
which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of
life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his
community. Employees with good mental health will perform better in their work.4.
1 Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, Section 15 (1)
2 Joseph LaDou, Current Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Fifth Edition, 2014, International
Occupational and Environment Health, (p.5)
3 Harnois, Gaston, World health Organization, 2002, Mental Health and Work : Impact, Issues and
Good Practices, (p. 1)
4 Mental Health First Aid England, London, 2013, Line Managers Resources, (p. 3)
1

6.On the other hand, mental illness is a health issue which can significantly influence how
people feel, think and behave. It is commonly used to refer to diagnosable conditions such as
mood disorder, anxiety disorder and psychotic disorders.5
DISCUSSION
CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
7.Case Appreciation: Mr. X was promoted to his new position as a Supervisor. He was
transfer to new department and tasked to supervise 50 workers with various experince. The
management had asked him to develop new set of work procedures for his new department in
order to increase the productivity. However, he was facing a lot of resistance from his team as
majority of them were senior workers and di not respect Mr. X much. Subsequently, he had
been going to see the company panel doctor for the last few months. He complainted of his
poor sleep, lethargic, poor appetite, feeling palpitation and headache. For that reason, Mr. X
had been absent from work frenquently. However through medical examination, his blood
pressure, his lung and heart was normal and no significant laboratory finding.
8.
Analysis of the case: Mental health symptoms can be traditionally been divided into
two groups either neurotic or psychotic symptoms. Neurotic is about those symptoms which
can be regarded as extreme forms of normal emotional experiences such as depression,
anxiety or panic. These conditions formerly referred to as neuroses are now more frequently
called common mental health problems, although this does not always mean they are less
severe than conditions with psychotic symptoms. Whereby, psychotic symptoms which less
common is interfered with a persons perception of reality with the person seeing, hearing,
smelling, feeling or believing things that no one else does. Psychotic symptoms are often
associated with severe mental health problems.6
9.Based on the situation that Mr. X is facing, it is a sign of mental health problem is occured
in the workplace. The consequences of his mental illnes can be identified based on his
frenquently absent from work even thouht his blood pressure and lung and heart are normal.
Without realising, he is having a mental illness probably depression and anxiety.
10.
Depression is used to describe a range of moods, ranging from low spirits to more
severe mood problems that interfere with everyday life. Symptoms may include a loss of
interest and pleasure, excessive feelings of worthlessness and guilt, hopelessness, morbid and
suicidal thoughts, and weight loss or weight gain.7 It can be assumed that Mr. X is having the
following core symptoms such as low mood, fatigue or lack of energy and lack of interest or
enjoyment in life. These symptoms is diagnosed if at least two out of three core symptoms
have been experienced by Mr. X for most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks.
5 Australian Human Right Commission, 2010, Workers with Mental Illness:A Practical Guide for
Managers, (p.7)
6 Singleton N, Bumpstead R, OBrien M, Lee A, Meltzer H, 2001, London, Psychiatric Morbidity Among
Adults Living In Private Households 2000: The Stationery Office

7 The World Health Report 2001Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope Geneva: World Health
Organisation, (2001)

11.
Anxiety is a normal response to threat or danger and part of the usual human
experience. However, it can become a mental health problem if the response is exaggerated,
lasts more than three weeks and interferes with daily life. Anxiety is characterised by worry
and agitation, often accompanied by physical symptoms or feeling palpitation such as rapid
breathing and a fast heartbeat or hot and cold sweats. 8 It can be assumed that Mr. X is having
those kinds of symptoms without realising it. Therefore Mr. X can be considered having a job
stress which associated with anxiety or depression.
12.Besides that, most of the senior workers under Mr. X supervision are having personality
disorder. No following instruction and not respect to high supervisor is a behaviour that
portrait personality disorder in the workplace. Personality disorder is problem of a person who
has difficulty coping with life or surrounding area or people and whose behaviour persistently
causes distress to themselves or others.9 The attitudes of people with a disorder usually
exaggerate part of their personality and result in behaviour at odds with expectations of what
is regarded as normal.
FACTORS THAT CAUSE STRESS AT WORKPLACE
Stress at workplace can be defined as the negative or harmful physical reaction people
have to aspects of their environment as they perceive it and emotional responses that occur
when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the
worker.10 Stress is therefore a response to a stimulus and involves a sense of an inability to
cope. We each perceive, interpret, cope with and react to the world differently, but a stress
reaction is an unpleasant state of anxiety. There are several factors and causes contributed to stress
13.

at workplace or occupational stress. Those factors can be categorized in three main factors.

8 The World Health Report 2001Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope Geneva: World Health
Organisation, (2001)

9 Singleton N, Coid J, Yang M, Tyrer P, Roberts A and Ullrich S, 2006, Prevalence and correlates of personality
disorder in Great Britain. British Journal of Psychiatry, (p. 188, 423 431)
10 E. Kendall, P. Murphy, V. ONeill, S. Bursnall, A Report to the Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation
Commission, 2000, Griffith University, Occupational Stress: Factors that Contribute to its Occurrence and
Effective Management Centre for Human Services, (p. 6).