In recent years, many employers have begun participating in mental wellness initiatives targeting their employees. Public institutions, for instance, observed Mental Wellness Day at UNAM on Friday, 7 November 2025, alongside ongoing mental health presentations by professionals such as social workers and psychologists. These efforts are indeed commendable.

However, one must ask: Are public institutions conducting internal checks to identify and address issues affecting all employees equally? If not, such wellness initiatives will not achieve their intended results. It appears that many organisers and eloquent speakers on this important topic have little understanding of how the employment system is often misused to sideline, bully, intimidate, and deprive certain employees of opportunities.

Many human resource (HR) units worsen the problem by failing to engage staff meaningfully to understand the real situation on the ground, relying instead on false assumptions. One may ask: Do HR departments expect employees who have served 10, 15, or even 20 years without a single promotion or recognition to remain mentally well? The answer is a resounding no.

Today, many HR units are led by individuals who value friendships and personal associations over fairness and merit. This is contrary to the call by Her Excellency during her 2025 address to civil servants at NIPAM, where she discouraged favouritism and misuse of the system. 

Talented, energetic, and qualified individuals whether naturally gifted or academically capable are left demoralised and unrecognised due to these unethical practices.

The government system is inherently sound and people-centred, but it can cause significant psychological distress if the Office of the Prime Minister does not intervene to protect the majority. Such operational flaws can even open the door to sexual harassment when viewed in a broader context.

A large number of employees who seldom receive recognition or rewards are women and men in lower grades. They are left to battle inflation and growing family responsibilities while trying to maintain their own wellbeing. Employers, through their HR units, must therefore address this “patrimonial logic”— a practice that values loyalty over performance.

It is encouraging that the government uses the Performance Management System (PMS), which in principle promotes fairness and transparency by identifying high performers. However, the fairness of this system is often ignored or captured by HR units that fail to reward employees equitably—particularly long-serving staff whose dedication is evident through quarterly and annual performance ratings. What has become of fair promotions? Sadly, many managers who have benefited from promotions themselves are unwilling to allow others the same opportunity, particularly those who are not their favourites.

A worrying trend has emerged in which some managers influence panellists before and during interviews, instructing them on preferred candidates. Such manipulation marks the beginning of an employee’s suffering within the system. These managers often form alliances with HR officials to ensure that deserving employees’ strong performance records do not translate into any rewards or advancement regardless of qualifications or natural talent.

Many managers display attitudes that are toxic to workplace harmony. They behave as if the institution is their personal domain and lack empathy and fairness. Some only wish to promote or work closely with women, a bias that threatens to undermine men’s professional growth. As a result, employees now juggle family, relationship, and work-related stress, leaving only the strongest to survive. Those who adapt learn to accept wrongdoing silently and find solace in personal ventures that become their source of peace. The weaker ones, however, resort to absenteeism, verbal outbursts against supervisors, or impulsive resignations—decisions that often lead to greater stress and mental health challenges later on.

It is therefore better to endure together as colleagues—earning a living while supporting our dependants than to suffer alone at home.

Mental wellness initiatives championed by the Office of the Prime Minister are indeed noble. 

As the Prime Minister rightly said, “We need to place humanity above everything else.” Yet, as long as systems continue to be misused discriminate against some employees and favour others, such unaddressed injustices will undermine these wellness campaigns especially when they fail to prioritise employee advancement.

Do HR departments have employee advancement plans? Most do not. In some cases, HR officers even block their own colleagues from attending internal interviews while ensuring that favoured individuals are “wheelbarrowed” into positions. This makes mental health not just a personal issue, but a human resources issue—one that threatens to weaken service delivery as more employees become disengaged, demotivated, and less creative.

This contradicts the President’s call for managers to treat employees as co-workers rather than subordinates. Yet, some HR officials and managers continue to weaponise the system to bully and oppress staff. Do these HR managers truly understand what “not business as usual” means or do they consider themselves untouchable?

Furthermore, wellness committees in many ministries often consist of close friends appointed through biased processes. Can we expect effective results from such groups? Certainly not. 

These individuals usually pursue personal agendas and fail to engage colleagues on the issues affecting them. It is no wonder that many ministries remain unaware of what truly stresses their employees, as those responsible for organising dialogue sessions are often the very source of workplace tension.

Where are we heading as a nation when our civil service is dominated by stressed employees, victims of a system misused by those meant to mentor and uplift them? Executive Directors and Ministers who understand the meaning of “not business as usual” should urgently engage with their managers to uncover the extent of oppression within ministries and address it openly with employees.

In the end, managers who block others’ growth should reflect on the biblical principle: “Do not do unto others what you would not want done unto you.” They must consider the lasting damage such actions can cause to others’ lives and to the future of their children.

Tobias Nanhinda Librarian at the Ministry of Gender. He assists with proposals and theses off duty. The views expressed are his own and not those of his employer.nanhix7@gmail.com