PSA’s comprehensive approach to workplace well-being for migrant workers earns national recognition
SINGAPORE: To create a psychologically safe working environment, PSA Corporation, Singapore’s leading port operator, launched a multilingual well-being survey to understand the needs of more than 3,000 employees, including migrant workers, contractors, and suppliers.
Developed with the help of a clinical psychologist, the survey was made available in the native languages of its employees to ensure accessibility and cultural sensitivity.
Mr. Cheang Chee Kit, PSA’s head of health, safety, and security for Southeast Asia, shared with TODAY: “We wanted to prioritise the sensitivity of our people and ensure a psychologically safe environment where employees could share honestly, especially those who may be struggling.”
The feedback gathered revealed that employees were seeking “community-based support”. As a result, PSA expanded its peer support initiatives, introduced para-counselling services, and increased recreational activities to foster “real people-to-people connections”, Mr. Cheang explained.
For its pioneering efforts, PSA was honored with the Wellbeing Innovation Award at the WorkWell Leaders Awards on Thursday, March 14, 2024. This prestigious award recognizes organizations that set best-practice standards in improving workplace mental health.
The judging panel, composed of corporate leaders and mental health experts, deemed PSA’s use of data to safeguard migrant workers’ well-being as the most innovative program among the three shortlisted nominees. The panel highlighted that PSA’s approach to providing access to timely support was “first of its kind”.
In a pre-recorded message during the awards ceremony, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam encouraged corporate leaders to “make your company a role model, a beacon of a culture of empathy, a culture that provides proactive support to those with different shades of anxiety or depression”. He also urged them to “make it an enjoyable place for everyone to work.”
The awards ceremony, held at Conrad Singapore Orchard Hotel, also recognized five other winners:
National University of Singapore (NUS), which won the Environmental, Social, and Governance Wellbeing Strategy Award
Otis International Asia Pacific, a global manufacturer of elevators and escalators, which received the Healthy Workplace Culture Award
Dr. Prem Kumar Nair, CEO of IHH Healthcare, who won the Wellbeing CEO Award
Clarence Ti, Deputy President of NUS, who received the CEO’s Wellbeing Partner Award
Otis International Asia Pacific, which also earned the Wellbeing Organisation of the Year Award
WorkWell Leaders, the charity behind the event, announced plans to establish a new national benchmark for workplace mental health and well-being, using the findings of an upcoming study on the impact of individual and organizational initiatives on employee well-being.
Ms. Anthea Ong, founder and chairperson of WorkWell Leaders, emphasized the importance of not only individual interventions but also organization-wide cultural transformation to improve workplace well-being.
Key components of this transformation include fostering positive leadership behaviors, granting autonomy in workload and work design, and cultivating a sense of belonging within the company.
Ms. Ong, who previously served as a Nominated Member of Parliament, stressed that the new benchmark would help corporate boards and management teams make informed decisions about strategies and investments that promote long-term value creation for their organizations.
