WFH: trust Between Employers, Employees Vital For Mental Health - Expert

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Bernama) -- The principle of mutual trust between employers and employees during the implementation of the Work From Home (WFH) policy must be prioritised to ensure tasks run smoothly and help employees maintain their mental health.

Siti Fatimah Abdul Ghani, the senior psychology officer of the Human Resources Services Division of Universiti Putra Malaysia, said that to foster this trust, employers need to understand employees better so that task distribution can be carried out effectively without causing excessive fatigue or burnout.

“Trust involves perception, and perception is influenced by how well employers know their employees. As such, employers need to know who they are supervising and understand their strengths and weaknesses.

“In terms of scheduling and task distribution at the employer level, if implemented properly, issues of trust will not arise,” she told Bernama today.

She said that through the principle of trust, there will be an element of unconditional positive regard, namely acceptance and non-judgmental support towards individuals, thus giving employees space to carry out their tasks more calmly at home.

“Employers need to be realistic. Today, we are in a challenging situation, so employers must understand both themselves and their employees,” she said.

Siti Fatimah said that trust is built through effective communication between employers and employees, which can then increase commitment to tasks even when not in the office.

She added that from a psychospiritual perspective, the main foundation is communication, as well as the 3C concept of connection, communication and commitment.

“Connection is the relationship and bond between employers and employees, as well as within the organisation. Communication, meanwhile, will strengthen that relationship.

“When there is good communication, it will lead to commitment, which then strengthens the existing relationship,” she said. 

The implementation of the WFH policy for the Federal public service sector nationwide, which began on April 15,  is part of the government’s strategic measures to strengthen preparedness in facing the global energy crisis following the conflict in West Asia.

-- BERNAMA