To honour this year’s focus of ‘workplace stress’ for World Day for Safety and Health at Work, we learn about mental health initiatives in our Group Exploration and Geosciences department and get stress-beating tips from Stefaan Van Der Borght, our head of health.
Life and work create all sorts of pressure.
The challenge comes when that pressure become so excessive that we can no longer cope with the demands it creates. This in turn causes high levels of stress, which can lead to ill health.
It’s an issue that requires significant attention as, globally, one in four employees are suffering workplace stress.
In the following section, Froydis Cameron-Johansson, head of safety, sustainability and corporate affairs and Lance Keys, safety health and environment manager for Group Exploration and Geosciences [GEG] provide an overview of the work GEG teams have conducted to raise awareness of mental health issues and employee well-being.
A difficult working environment
“Like the rest of Anglo American, teams working in GEG have been through a great deal of change, coupled with an often challenging physical work environment. Both of these factors can create high levels of stress and pressure.
“The mining industry has recently woken up to the fact that mental health and well-being are just as important as physical health and that mental illness can be debilitating for individuals, families and communities.
