Support of Mental Well-being of Social Workers by Their Employers

Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether there is currently any psychological safety training for senior management and board members of social service agencies to support the mental well-being of social workers in their organisations; (b) whether steps are being taken by the National Council of Social Service to support the mental well-being of these social workers by ensuring that those who express psychological difficulties do not face criticisms or reprisals within their organisations; and (c) if so, what are these steps.

The National Council of Social Service (NCSS) works with social service agencies (SSAs) to develop stronger leadership and organisational capabilities. For example, the Social Service Institute offers training in organisational development for senior management and board members. These courses include elements on staff motivation and creating a supportive workplace environment, which contribute to staff psychological safety and well-being. These also help to equip supervisors with skills to manage stress and burnout among their staff and colleagues.

We encourage SSAs to adopt the good practices on fostering psychological safety in the workplace, as recommended by the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health and Well-being at Workplaces. In addition to being safe, workplaces should also be fair and harmonious. To this end, SSAs should abide by the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices and the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation. To strengthen their people practice capabilities, SSAs can tap on funding from the Transformation Sustainability Scheme. In addition, NCSS’ online Wellness Resource Hub provides resources for supervisors and human resource practitioners to manage their employees’ mental well-being. NCSS’ Caring for Social Service Professionals Scheme also provides co-funding of up to 90% for SSAs to engage professional providers to offer counselling services for their staff.