South Africa still has a culture of silence surrounding mental health problems in the workplace. Employers and employees are unwilling to talk openly about conditions such as anxiety and depression for fear of association with weakness and failure. However, healthy employees are productive employees. Investing in a mentally healthy workforce is good business. It can curb medical costs, increase productivity, decrease absenteeism, and prevent and decrease disability costs. Investing in mental health also improves employee motivation, staff retention and competitiveness.

The following experts are lined up for this first USB Corporate Mental Health Awareness Day:

• Prof Piet Naudé, Director, USB: The ethical responsibility of leadership to enable multi-dimensional staff wellness.
• Dr Renata Schoeman, Private Psychiatrist; Part-time Senior Lecturer: Leadership, USB: From fire to ashes: burnout and more. The clinical aspects of common mental health problems, the importance of self-care, and other preventative measures.
• Prof Christoffel Grobler, Associate professor, Walter Sisulu University; Clinical Head, Elizabeth Donkin hospital: Preventing disability in an employee with mental illness.