Panasonic Marketing Middle East and Africa (PMMAF) organized month-long activities for its employees as a part of World Mental Health Day. Every year, October 10 is observed as the United Nations' World Mental Health Day to promote the significance of spreading awareness about mental health issues across the world and encourage international efforts to provide financial support to mental health care.
Organized in collaboration with the CSR agency ‘Companies for Good’ and social enterprise ‘Better Together’, Panasonic hosted online and in-person sessions to encourage employees to be conscious of the mental health of their own and those around them, as well as try to offer extra support to individuals with mental illness around them. The company organized five sessions under the ‘Behind the Mask’ theme that pushed 116 attendees to think about how they portray themselves to the external world and what part do they keep to themselves. With the mask painting activity, attendees were encouraged to self-reflect, express and start difficult conversations through colors, designs, and shapes. All painted masks were then showcased internally through a virtual exhibition.
“We, at Panasonic, put employee well-being on top of our agenda as it is important for any business’ success. We strongly believe that when an organization becomes proactive in ensuring its employees’ physical and mental well-being, it can create a healthier workplace where everyone wins,” commented Hiroyuki Shibutani, Managing Director, PMMAF.
“It is crucial to remember that every individual is different, and so their progress will likely differ as well, therefore, it's important to create an open environment that promotes mental well-being and provides resources for employees. Some researchers found mental illnesses like depression, stress, and anxiety to be just as unbearable as some organic medical diseases like arthritis. Furthermore, the pandemic has taken a toll on everyone physically, mentally and emotionally. Work pressure during such a tough situation has also made its due impact. Hence, our employee wellbeing initiatives focus on providing a healthy workplace, which also understands the unique needs of each employee,” commented Sonet Ruthven – General Manager, Human Resources Division at PMMAF.
This year, World Mental Health Day is being celebrated at a time when the world has gone through massive changes in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic and its repercussions, work pressure during such a tough situation has also made its due impact. Panasonic also created informative newsletters and conducted webinars to educate employees on how to manage stress and talk about mental health issues.
