FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Webinar challenges business leaders to confront the productivity, financial and human costs of poor workplace well-being
Kingston, October 13, 2026: The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (The PSOJ) is calling on corporate Jamaica to move beyond mental health awareness and take practical steps to address the workplace conditions affecting employee well-being, productivity and business performance.
The call emerged from The PSOJ’s Business of Mental Health webinar, held in observance of World Mental Health Day as an initiative of The PSOJ’s Gender and Disabilities Committee, chaired by Renee Morrison. The webinar brought together business executives from various industries and agencies to examine the economic and human costs of poor mental health in the workplace and discuss practical steps employers can take to address the issue.
The discussion brought into focus a central message: mental health is no longer an issue businesses can afford to treat as an occasional wellness activity or the sole responsibility of human resource departments. It is a leadership and business sustainability issue, with implications for productivity, employee retention, decision-making, organisational resilience and the bottom line.
Opening the discussion, Executive Director of The PSOJ, Sacha Vaccianna-Riley, challenged employers to examine not only how employees respond to pressure, but also the workplace conditions creating that pressure.
“Perhaps we also need to be asking, what are we asking our people to be so resilient against? Because there are some workplace problems that cannot be solved with a mere wellness seminar. Sometimes we have to examine the work itself, the workload, the culture, the manager, the expectations and the systems, the organisation itself,” Vaccianna-Riley said.
Her remarks underscored the need for businesses to look beyond individual coping strategies and assess whether their management practices, organisational structures and workplace expectations are contributing to employee stress. As she noted, the issue is not simply about employee welfare. “It is about business performance. It is about leadership effectiveness and it is about organisational sustainability.”
Moderated by Suzette Buchanan, Chief Executive Officer of Bellevue Hospital and a mental health advocate, the webinar explored how mental health challenges can affect employees who remain physically present at work but struggle to concentrate, make decisions, meet deadlines or perform at their usual capacity.
Buchanan challenged business leaders to recognise the warning signs before employees reach a breaking point.
“Must an employee reach a crisis before we recognise that something is wrong? Must they break down before we slow down? Must they resign before we respond?” she asked.
She urged employers to take a closer look at their organisational cultures and the experiences of the people who work within them. “Don’t simply review your financial statements. Review your workplace culture.”
The discussion highlighted the less visible costs of poor workplace mental health, including reduced engagement, absenteeism, presenteeism, workplace conflict, impaired judgement and staff turnover. These challenges can also create additional pressure on colleagues, increase recruitment and replacement costs, and affect the quality and consistency of business operations.
Dr. Kai Morgan Campbell, registered clinical psychologist and Group Chief Executive Officer of Kahle Wellness Group Limited, contributed to the discussion on the effects of workplace stress and the importance of addressing mental health concerns before they escalate. The conversation reinforced the need for employers to recognise the relationship between psychological well-being, employees’ ability to function effectively and overall organisational performance.
Meanwhile, Dr. Cassida Jones Johnson, President of the Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica (HRMAJ), challenged organisations to examine whether their workplace cultures and management practices are contributing to the problems they are trying to address.
She highlighted the importance of psychological safety, clear expectations and practical protections for employees. The discussion also cautioned against celebrating constant availability, routinely working late and responding to work demands outside normal hours as automatic signs of commitment.
These behaviours, while sometimes praised as evidence of dedication, can point to unhealthy expectations that undermine sustainable performance. Employers were encouraged to pay closer attention to workload, employee feedback and the everyday practices that shape the workplace experience.
Darron Turnquest, drawing on his experience at Flow, highlighted the importance of making employee support accessible, allowing staff to take their leave without stigma, and responding to personal challenges with understanding rather than rushing to disciplinary action. He noted that retaining talent is often less costly than replacing it, adding: “Be flexible, give a little more, and you will be amazed how much more you will get in return.”
Jones Johnson also emphasised the importance of managers having meaningful conversations with their teams, asking employees how they are feeling, what is causing them stress and how they can be supported. This approach places responsibility on organisations to create an environment where concerns can be raised and addressed, rather than leaving employees to manage workplace pressures on their own.
At the same time, Dr. Hopelin Hines, Head of Group Human Resources Division at National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited, reinforced the connection between employee well-being and business results.
“Well-being and performance are not competing priorities. Well-being actually sets the stage for superior performance,” Hines said.
Her presentation highlighted the business implications of employee engagement and disengagement, including global estimates that disengagement costs the economy trillions of US dollars annually. The discussion made the case that organisations which prioritise employee well-being are better positioned to support engagement, productivity and stronger business outcomes.
A key takeaway from the webinar was that addressing workplace mental health requires more than awareness campaigns, occasional wellness sessions or employee benefits. It calls for deliberate action by business leaders to review organisational culture, assess workloads, equip managers to recognise and respond to concerns, protect confidentiality and ensure that appropriate support is accessible.
It also requires employers to consider whether their policies and performance expectations are consistent with the healthy, productive and resilient workforce they want to build. Leaders must be prepared to examine how work is organised, how employees are treated and whether the systems intended to drive performance are inadvertently contributing to stress and disengagement.
For The PSOJ, the discussion forms part of the wider effort to encourage workplaces that support people while enabling businesses to perform, innovate and grow. The challenge is to make mental health a continuing part of leadership decisions and organisational practice, rather than an issue revisited only during awareness activities.
The webinar was sponsored by Canopy Insurance Limited, Total Office and Totally Male, whose support helped facilitate the conversation.
Ultimately, the discussion challenged Jamaican businesses to recognise that the cost of neglecting workplace mental health cannot be measured in sick days alone. For organisations seeking improved productivity, stronger employee retention and sustainable growth, creating healthier workplaces is both a responsibility to employees and an investment in long-term business performance.
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The Business Of Mental Health Webinar
MEDIA CONTACT
Velton Gooden Jr.
Communications Associate
The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica
Email: veltong@psoj.org
Telephone: (876) 836-4285