Occupational Mental Health and Organizational Development: A Global South Perspective

Abstract

Occupational mental health remains an underexplored aspect of organizational development in the Global South. In many workplaces, stigma, scarce resources, weak enforcement of labor standards, and the realities of informal employment continue to limit progress. This paper examines how employee wellbeing connects to organizational performance and long-term sustainability, and it argues that mental health should be treated as a form of organizational capital rather than a secondary concern. Evidence from Africa and Asia is compared with established models such as the United Kingdom’s Health and Safety Executive standards and the World Health Organization’s Healthy Workplace framework. The discussion identifies major gaps in policy, workplace culture, and human resource practices. It also suggests that proactive, culturally sensitive, and sector-specific approaches are needed to improve engagement, creativity, and retention among employees. Practical recommendations include integrating mental health into human resource systems, creating supportive workplace cultures, and promoting policy interventions at both organizational and government levels. The paper calls for a shift in how organizational psychology and management studies in the Global South treat occupational mental health, proposing a research and practice agenda that positions wellbeing as a foundation for sustainable organizational development.

Keywords: Occupational mental health, Global South, organizational development, employee wellbeing, human resource management, sustainable development