Erick Thohir Affirms Commitment to Prioritize Mental Health of SOE Employees, Holds 6th Roadshow in Sulawesi

Makassar, 21 June 2024 - Indonesian SOE Minister Erick Thohir reaffirmed his commitment to prioritize the mental health of SOE employees equally throughout Indonesia, reflected through the 6th roadshow of the 1000 Human Stories event, this time held on Friday (21/6) at MaxOne Hotel Makassar, South Sulawesi. The event, which involved 274 young employees and influencers of SOEs in the Sulawesi region, invited them to raise awareness and reduce stigma related to mental health in the SOE environment.

Erick Thohir through Special Staff III of the Minister of SOEs, Arya Sinulingga, revealed that in the era of increasingly massive information dissemination, the pressure is higher and SOE employees must be more resilient, including psychologically or mentally so that they can still provide good performance in work.

"Currently, the spread of information through various media is getting higher, more open, more pressure even to enter the room when we are careless. Methods are needed to release and realize the emotions that occur. The Minister sees this as very important, to help BUMN employees to be free from pressure and be in a condition to have better performance, and this is made throughout Indonesia so that BUMN employees are evenly mentally healthy," said Arya.

Erick Thohir's commitment, apart from the 1000 Human Stories roadshow in Indonesia, is also realized by formalizing the Employee Wellbeing Policy (EWP) which was released by the Minister of SOEs some time ago, and has been distributed to be implemented in all SOEs. This EWP is a foundation for all SOEs to pay attention to the survival of their employees, including mental health, and not only focus on business.

This is in line with what is done at Pelindo, "Pelindo itself has various programs to maintain the mental health of workers such as the existence of a complaint portal and the formation of various sports and arts communities. The program is a form of company support for workers so that physical and mental health and happiness of workers increase and can contribute to work productivity," said Abdul Asis, Executive Director of Pelindo Regional 4.

The Sulawesi edition of 1000 Human Stories contained various inspirational activities, starting with a meditation session guided by Putra Wiramuda (Mindfulness Practitioner), followed by a talk show with several figures experienced in maintaining mental health including Nur Hafidzah Tanwali (Psychologist), Asrul Darwin (BUMN Runners), Aurelie Moeremans (Actress), Adinda Cresheilla (Putri Indonesia Pariwisata 2022), consultation with a psychologist face-to-face, and closed with a five sense experience by Ayu Rahmawati Tirto (Psychologist).

The event was also attended by representatives from the Ministry of SOEs and SOEs that collaborated to realize the 6th roadshow in Makassar, including Pelindo, Semen Indonesia (SIG) and BTN. Makassar (South Sulawesi) was chosen as the 6th city in a series of roadshow events after previously being held in Jakarta, Yogyakarta Special Region (Magelang), East Java (Malang), Bali (Nusa Dua), and Balikpapan (East Kalimantan). In the future, it is hoped that this activity can continue to reach other provinces and cities so that literacy and practices related to mental health for the people of Indonesia can increase evenly.