It's Time to Prioritise Mental Health in the Workplace: icddr,b Celebrated the World Mental Health Day 2024
In celebration of World Mental Health Day 2024, the icddr,b Human Resources department with support from AdSEARCH organised a seminar and a Mental Wellness Fair, and a day-long psychological counselling session for the icddr,b employees on 21 October 2024. The initiative brought together a large number of staff members to the event.
Dr Tahmeed Ahmed welcomed everyone to the event by addressing the increasing demands of stress management and mental well-being in the workplace. His talk was followed by a participatory session on stress management, led by Jobeda Khatun where she offered practical strategies for managing stress at the workplace that many icddr,b colleagues found immediately useful. The session continued as Dr Md. Musharrof Hossain presented the icddr,bʼs mental health support system, detailing the services available to its employees. The session was followed by closing remarks from Dr Shams El Arifeen. One key attraction of the celebration was the Mental Wellness Fair at the icddr,b Mohakhali campus which allowed attendees to engage in diverse well-being activities through five individual booths.
The in-person Psychological Counselling booth opened for registration for those interested in meeting a psychologist and experiencing an in-person counselling. Around 60 icddr,b colleagues registered for the service from four psychologists, who currently are providing tele-counseling support through the AdSEARCH Mental Wellness Centre study, at six selected health facilities across Bangladesh A unique feature of the fair was "Dear Me!" — a booth where participants were encouraged to write letters to their present, past, and future selves, filling it with their hopes, dreams, and thoughts.
Major Attendees (chronology as appeared in the news):
Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, Executive Director, icddr,b
Jobeda Khatun, Assistant Professor and former Chairperson of the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Dhaka
Dr Md Musharrof Hossain, Acting Director of HR and Head of Human Resources Management, icddr,b
Dr Shams El Arifeen, Project Director, AdSEARCH & Senior Director and Senior Scientist, MCHD, icddr,b
Dr Quamrun Nahar, Deputy Project Director, AdSEARCH & Head of Research, MCHD, icddr,b
