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GAC Malaysia’s Managing Director Herman Jorgensen knows from personal experience how mental health struggles can impact work. That’s why he is determined to ‘walk the talk’ and not just tick boxes in his drive to prioritise staff wellbeing.
“About 15 years ago, from the outside it looked like I was winning at life. I was a young family man making good progress in my career. So, why was I having panic attacks and feeling a sense of emptiness?
Quite simply, because we are all much more than our job – and sometimes the stresses and strains of other aspects of our lives have an impact elsewhere, including our work. Despite my northern European male reluctance to show what I thought was a sign of weakness, I admitted I needed help. That was the turning point for me both personally, and as a manager.
The lesson I learned from seeking help stayed with me when I was appointed Managing Director of GAC UK in 2014. With the valuable support of my enthusiastic team, we put mental health awareness on the agenda. GAC UK was one of the first companies in the GAC Group to sign up staff members as Mental health First Aiders trained to spot when colleagues are struggling and refer them for further support, if needed.
When the time came, in January 2023, for a new challenge in a very different place, I took that experience with me. Malaysia has obvious cultural differences to the UK but I believe we all share common traits, and knowing that your company is looking out for your welfare beyond your professional duties makes people feel valued. And when they feel valued, they deliver.
Everyone benefits
Focusing on mental health in real terms helps a company as much as it does its employees. It increases staff retention, reduces sick leave, improves motivation and performance, and enables people to better handle the stress that is sometimes impossible to avoid in job, helping them to make fewer mistakes by remaining calm and customer-focused when under pressure.
Such an environment enables the company to pick up symptoms and help colleagues facing difficult situations. Creating a sense of corporate family helps individual staff members take care of each other and give them the tools to do so.
GAC Care campaign
This year, we got together with community mental health social enterprise Thrive Well to create GAC Malaysia’s wellbeing campaign, GACare.
We are training people to recognise and reach out when a colleague is struggling. Importantly, in recognition that sometimes an issue is something we cannot help with, we offer professional services for staff who need it.
GACare offers confidential support for employees facing burnout, emotional challenges, or life transitions, reaffirming our commitment to a supportive workplace environment.
We are doing so by making confidential consultation available for all employees, on-site and online, enabling them to connect with licensed mental health professionals.
Then there are regular workshops and seminars to give them practical techniques to enhance their wellbeing, covering topics likes stress management, work-life balance, work-from-home strategies and mindfulness.
And not least, we have activities such exercise sessions and fun days to add balance and healthy habits to their daily routines.
We are conducting a series of workshops to spread the word about the campaign, both centrally at our HQ in Kuala Lumpur and locally at our offices throughout Malaysia.
In my opening speech at the campaign launch, I shared a little about my own experiences. As a result, I was asked by Thrive Well if I would be interested in featuring in an episode of a podcast about dealing with the duality of work and personal lives. I accepted, but as an individual rather with my GAC manager hat on, as thought it would be a good personal and professional challenge.
Trust and empathy
One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that we become better managers as we focus more on empathetic management. Being able to have difficult yet honest conversations increases the trust relationship with staff.
By genuinely caring about people’s lives beyond the workplace, we are building our corporate mindset and our brand as an employer who actually cares and walks the talk.”
