Nairobi: Employees of the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications underwent a sensitisation exercise on handling life stressors and building resilience during a mental health and wellness forum. The forum was facilitated by officers from the Directorate of Counselling and Wellness Services in the Ministry of Public Service and Human Capital Development.
According to Kenya News Agency, Director of Human Resource Management and Development Juanita Ombima stated that the exercise aims to promote the mental health and wellbeing of the staff in the department. The Director encouraged staff to be open about mental health challenges and life stressors they might be undergoing, assuring them of the department's support through an open-door policy and confidential human resource policy.
Ms Ombima emphasized the importance of maintaining an open-door policy among sectional heads and officers who supervise operations. 'Counselling begins with the line manager. We expect heads to guide their staff on how to navigate and resolve stress factors that may be inhibiting their performance at the workplace before escalating such matters to the human resource unit at the State Department,' she said.
Officials from the Directorate of Counselling and Wellness Services conducted sessions focused on stress management interventions, including awareness creation of common life stressors, signs of stress, and strategies to minimise and cope with stress. The staff were also educated on the importance of resilience in tackling life stressors and other mental health challenges they may encounter in their day-to-day life.
The officials noted that their Directorate offers counselling services free of charge to civil servants and their dependants. Officers were encouraged to utilize these free counselling services to improve their wellbeing and enhance their personal responsibility and productivity both at the workplace and in other environments.