Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1393937
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 JULY 2021 NEWS Environment Protection Act, 2016 Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations (S.L. 549.46) CONSULTATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE CONVEN- TION ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN A TRANSBOUNDARY CONTEXT (ESPOO CONVENTION) OF THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE, AND ITS FIRST AND SECOND AMENDMENTS NOTICE OF SUBMISSION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR THE PROPOSAL OF THE ITA- LY-MALTA GAS PIPELINE. Notice is hereby being given the Ministry of Ecological Transition Directorate for Environmental Assessment and Authorizations in Italy, has submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report to the Minister for the En- vironment, Climate Change and Planning in connection with the above-mentioned application. The Italian EIA Report and non-technical summary are available for viewing on the ERA website: https://era.org. mt/era-project/pa08757-17/. All documentation related to the Italian EIA report is avail- able through the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition Directorate for Environmental Assessment and Authoriza- tions: https://va.minambiente.it/it-IT/Oggetti/Documen- tazione/7590/10991 Anyone who wishes to make any submissions on envi- ronmental matters should write to the Director of En- vironment and Resources, Environment and Resources Authority, Hexagon House, Spencer Hill, Marsa MRS 1441, or send an email to eia.malta@era.org.mt, by the 17 th of August 2021. Date: 18 July 2021. Disclaimer: The Authority is committed to protect the personal data and privacy of the public in general. You are being in- formed that when making submissions, your person- al data will not be disclosed or published unless within twelve (12) hours you give consent to the Authority to disclose your personal data. Provided that the Authority may disclose your personal data in those cases where it is required to do so, in order to comply with the applicable Laws. Poor mental health could cost Malta businesses up to €328 million PAUL COCKS POOR mental health is caus- ing Maltese businesses between €265 million and €328 million a year, the authors of a study on mental health in the workplace say. Paul and Nadine Sinclair's study 'Building Resilience: A Prescrip- tion For Tackling The Global Mental Health Challenge One Step At A Time', by Malta-based Mind Matters, shows many em- ployers remain unaware of the full impact of poor mental health on their bottom line. Using conservative assump- tions, they estimate the total cost of poor mental health to employers across Europe to be between €378-€469 billion each year. This cost comprises about €79-€99 billion in costs related to absence from the workplace, about €255-€304 billion in pre- senteeism (working whilst sick) and between €44-€64 billion in costs resulting from staff turno- ver. Not only does presenteeism ac- count for two-thirds of the cost of poor mental health to em- ployers, but the Sinclairs' analy- sis also revealed variables related to working whilst sick to be the most sensitive. Across all EU28 countries, the highest costs are due to presentee-ism (on aver- age 65-68% of coss in the low- and high-impact cost scenarios, respectively), followed by absen- teeism costs (on average 21% of costs). In Malta alone in 2019, staff turnover costs related to mental health accounted for 13% to 16% of costs to employers: €35 mil- lion to €52 million annually. The annual cost to employers associated with absenteeism or sickness absence is €19 to €24 million a year. It is, however, working whilst sick which is the primary driver of costs to employers. In Malta, mental health-related presentee- ism is estimated to cost between €212 million and €252 million annually. Average annual cost of poor mental health per employee stood at €1,301 in 2019. This compares well with Lux- embourg's €3,186 cost per em- ployee, France's €2,828, the UK's €2,220 or Italy's €2,185. Bulgaria, Romania and Lithuania regis- tered the lowest employee cost. Maltese employees worked, on average, 39.5 hours per week, compared to the EU's 37-hour average. The average hourly la- bour cost in Malta is €15 (EU: €28.2). The report explains that pre- senteeism occurs when employ- ees go into work whilst sick, but as a result, do not work at full productivity. It must not be confused with pretending to be ill, avoiding work assignments or pursing unrelated activities at work such as social media browsing. Different from absence from work, presenteeism is much harder to measure and quanti- fy. Many organisations are very systematic about measuring and deterring absenteeism but miss the impact of presenteeism on the bottom line. However, there is a close link between absenteeism and pre- senteeism: when an individual is unwell, they make a deliberate choice between taking time off to recuperate or carry on working. The Sinclair report makes an emphasis on how not every employee with mental health challenges takes time off work. Indeed, employees with poor mental health are more prone to presenteeism than employees suffering from other health con- ditions. The 2017 UK Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index survey results show that 81% of employees with mental health problems do not take time off when they do not feel fit to work. The reasons for this are numer- ous and include stigma, concerns about job security and future ca- reer, worries about letting down co-workers and believing it is inappropriate to take time off in the absence of physical symp- toms. The report says that mental health has started to gain more attention in recent years. With one in four people be- lieved to be suffering from poor mental health each year, it is no longer something that affects the few. "Poor mental health severely impacts an individual's ability to thrive both personally and pro- fessionally. As our ways of work- ing continue to change, work- places will take centre-stage in addressing this challenge." The Sinclairs' findings show that this rise in poor mental health also impacts business. "Several factors have further increased mental health-related presenteeism in the work-place since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, including significant changes to the way of working, uncertain job prospects and in- creased financial strain." They insist that there is a con- vincing case for employers to tackle mental wellbeing in the workplace. Analysis of workplace mental wellbeing programmes show that the business case is over- whelmingly positive, demon- strating average returns of €5.20 for every €1 invested. Perhaps the most important insight from this analysis is that mental wellbeing in the work- place is a challenge that several companies have already mas- tered over the last few years. While it will not be easy for many companies to overcome poor mental health in the work-place, they will not start from scratch.