Return to work (RTW) challenges and mental health issues among unemployed workers in Selangor

Rujhan, Aidil Wajdi (2023) Return to work (RTW) challenges and mental health issues among unemployed workers in Selangor. [Project Paper] (Submitted)

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Abstract

Introduction: Malaysia's unemployment rate is at its lowest level since the Covid-19 epidemic whereas around 630,000 unemployed people in June as opposed to 637,700 the month prior, this represented a 0.1% decline from May 2022. Return-to-work challenges can frequently be attributed to the interaction between personal circumstances, such as obstacles like health status, physical disability, current health treatment, current commitment, social support, lack of skill, and mental health issues like depression and social anxiety. Unemployment due to many factors really has an impact on personal life especially mental health problems. Objective: This research aims to explore the association between return-to-work (RTW) challenges and mental health issues among unemployed workers in Selangor. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 166 unemployed workers selected via snowball method all around Selangor state. A set of self-administered online questionnaires including RTW challenges, GAD-7 and PHQ-9 was used in this study. Result: Respondents comprised of 61.4% male, aged 20 to 34 years old, mostly have education level of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) (29.5%) and bachelor’s degree holders (29.5%). The majority of respondents experienced moderate RTW challenges (Mean 2.96, Std Dev=0.576). The top RTW challenge is lack of work experience with 45 % agree and 11 % strongly agree from the total respondents. The prevalence of anxiety and depression were 81.3% and 71.1% respectively. Spearman’s correlation indicated the correlation between return-to-work challenges with both anxiety and depression was moderate and positive, τ = .343, p < 0.001 and τ = .343 respectively, p < 0.001. RTW challenges, level of education, gender and total anxiety accounted for a significant 35.7% of the variability in anxiety which R²= 0.357, adjusted R²= 0.345, F (3, 382) = 29.968 p< 0.01 while for total depression accounted for a significant 24.2% of the variability in anxiety which R²= 0.242, adjusted R²= 0.228, F (3, 162) = 17.226 p< 0.01. Conclusion: The prevalence of mental health issues is high among respondents and it is correlated with RTW challenges. Hence, prompt intervention strategies need to be formulated to support unemployed workers. Keywords: Return-to-work, mental health, anxiety and depression, unemployed workers

Item Type:	Project Paper
Faculty:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Depositing User:	Ms Norafizah Radzuan
Date Deposited:	11 Mar 2024 06:48
Last Modified:	11 Mar 2024 06:48
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/1632

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