.png)
SHAH ALAM - New research commissioned by global professional services and standards company BSI suggests that Malaysian employers could unlock significant productivity gains by fostering workplace cultures where employees feel safe discussing their physical and mental health.
According to the study, stronger support for employee wellbeing can improve productivity, reduce absenteeism and strengthen workforce resilience.
BSI said the findings demonstrate that investing in employee health and wellbeing is no longer merely a social responsibility but also a commercial opportunity.
The research comes as Malaysia faces growing mental health challenges alongside stricter workplace obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Department of Occupational Safety and Health's Guidelines on Psychosocial Risk Assessment and Management at the Workplace (PRisMA) 2024, which are aligned with the international standard ISO 45003.
According to the Health's National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023, the prevalence of depression among Malaysian adults doubled from 2019 to 4.6 per cent, affecting around one million people aged 15 and above.
The highest prevalence was recorded among those aged between 16 and 29, representing a significant portion of the country's current and future workforce.
At the same time, Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) figures showed labour productivity per worker grew by 3.4 per cent in 2025, with BSI noting that sustaining this momentum would depend on maintaining a healthy and engaged workforce.
The research, conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), found that organisations benefit when employees feel confident discussing health-related challenges, including physical and mental health conditions, neurodiversity, menopause and menstruation.
The study identified what it described as a "confidence productivity premium", showing that employees who are comfortable seeking support are generally more productive, take fewer prolonged absences and are less likely to leave their jobs.
Conversely, employees with lower confidence in discussing health concerns accumulated more sick days over the course of a year despite taking leave less frequently. Their absences also tended to last longer, making workforce planning more difficult.
The research further found that lower-confident employees were more likely to continue working while unwell — a phenomenon known as presenteeism — reducing productivity and increasing the likelihood of extended leave or job separation.
Global Head of Human and Social Sustainability at BSI Kate Field said workplace culture played a critical role in determining how employees managed health challenges.
"While this research zeroes in on three countries, our findings are globally applicable. Workplace wellbeing starts with a culture of trust.
"When employees are facing health challenges, employers are not powerless. There are easy but meaningful steps they can take to support their people and sustain organisational performance and resilience.
"Our findings show that, where trust has not been cultivated and support feels difficult to access, employees’ health challenges are more likely to escalate and lead to time away from work.
"We know that everyone has moments where their physical or mental wellbeing are not optimal; the support an individual receives at these moments from their employer can make a big impact.
"Interventions like providing time to recuperate, or simple changes to the way people can work that keeps them in work, impacts not only the individual but the success of the organisation and wider society," she said.
Despite growing awareness of mental health, the research found many employees still hesitate to seek support at work.
On average, only 22 per cent of respondents who had experienced psychological or mental health challenges said they felt completely confident discussing them with their line manager.
Confidence was even lower when approaching human resources departments (19 per cent) or team directors (20 per cent), while just one in four respondents felt comfortable using workplace counselling services.
The study also found that 57 per cent believed dealing with mental health issues had affected their career progression.
BSI Malaysia Managing Director Evelyn Chye urged employers to move beyond simply monitoring sick leave statistics.
"Low absence rates can give the impression of a healthy workforce, but in reality, productivity losses are embedded in day-to-day performance – creating a hidden productivity challenge.
"Malaysian organisations need to look beyond absence metrics. Building a culture of trust, where employees feel able to seek support and believe it will make a difference, will be essential to improving the country’s productivity and strengthening workforce resilience," she said.
CEBR senior economist Liam Daly said the findings demonstrated that employee wellbeing should be viewed as a strategic business investment rather than a compliance exercise.
"Our analysis finds that the productivity premium unlocked when employees feel confident to raise health challenges with their employers is worth billions.
"Critically, this reframes the employer's role from passive obligation to active opportunity. Fostering a culture of trust and openness is a tangible and achievable goal.
"Workplaces with stronger standards-based provisions are consistently associated with fewer workplace absences among employees facing health and wellbeing challenges.
"Health, safety and wellbeing standards give organisations a practical framework to move beyond good intentions, embedding the behaviours, systems, and accountability that build genuine employee confidence," Daly said.
BSI said organisations could strengthen employee confidence through clearer workplace guidance, earlier interventions and structured support systems.
The report found that 72 per cent of respondents globally considered standards-based guidance to be a valuable tool for addressing health and wellbeing challenges in the workplace.
BSI has also published four business guides outlining best practices rooted in internationally recognised standards to help employers build a more open and supportive workplace culture.
The research was conducted by CEBR in February and involved surveys across Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan.
A total of 1,008 respondents participated, including 404 who reported psychological health challenges and 604 who experienced physical health challenges within the previous five years.
