By Kumbirai Madzana
Mental health is not something employees leave at home when they report for work. Every employee enters the workplace carrying a psychological world shaped by family responsibilities, financial realities, relationships, expectations, disappointments, personal histories and aspirations. Workplace experiences can also influence psychological wellbeing. Employee behaviour therefore cannot always be understood without considering the interaction between the individual, the workplace and the wider social environment.
This becomes particularly important when discussing substance abuse. The conventional response often focuses on behaviour: Why is the employee drinking? Why are substances being used? Why doesn’t the person simply stop? Counselling psychology encourages deeper questions: What causes the behaviour, and what healthier coping strategies can replace it?
This does not excuse harmful behaviour or remove personal responsibility. Rather, it seeks to understand behaviour sufficiently to make meaningful and sustainable change possible.
Mental Health, Stress and the Psychology of Coping
The relationship between stress, coping and substance abuse can be understood through the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) and Self-Medication Theory (Khantzian, 1985). These theories suggest that distress is shaped not only by stressful circumstances but also by how individuals interpret challenges and their ability to manage them. When people feel overwhelmed by workplace or personal demands, they may adopt healthy coping strategies such as counselling, social support, exercise, spirituality and problem-solving, or unhealthy strategies such as substance abuse.
Self-Medication Theory proposes that some individuals use substances to reduce emotional pain, stress or psychological discomfort. Consequently, substance abuse should be viewed not only as behaviour requiring correction but also as a response occurring within broader psychological and social circumstances. Understanding these factors can help organisations develop more effective counselling, wellness and support interventions. Substance abuse may therefore be understood as a maladaptive coping strategy that develops when individuals experience distress and perceive limited alternatives for managing emotional, social or occupational pressures.
Global evidence highlights mental health as a significant workplace concern, with the World Health Organization (2022) estimating that around 15% of working-age adults live with a mental disorder. Poor mental health can affect attendance, productivity, performance and workplace relationships. Consequently, the WHO and the International Labour Organization advocate preventive approaches that include mental health promotion, stigma reduction, supportive management practices, early intervention and access to counselling services. Workplace mental health is therefore both an individual and organisational responsibility.
Research by Doyle and colleagues (2023), involving 634 young people in Harare and Mashonaland East, found that 37.4% screened positive for probable common mental disorders. The researchers concluded that more accessible and acceptable mental health services were needed. Although not a workplace study, it highlights the extent of psychological distress within Zimbabwean communities.
Zimbabwe has also demonstrated that culturally responsive psychological interventions can make a meaningful contribution. In 2016, Chibanda and colleagues evaluated the Friendship Bench intervention through a randomised clinical trial in Harare, while Chibanda (2017) later described it as a model helping to reduce Zimbabwe’s treatment gap for mental, neurological and substance-use disorders through accessible psychological support.
Behind Behaviour There May Be a Story
Substance abuse can negatively affect physical and psychological health, relationships, safety and occupational functioning. However, counselling psychology encourages us to look beyond the behaviour and understand the experiences, pressures and psychological needs that may contribute to it. Understanding does not remove accountability; rather, it provides a stronger foundation for effective intervention by asking not only how harmful behaviour can stop, but also what healthier coping strategies can replace it.
Stigma: The Silent Barrier to Counselling
Effective counselling depends on employees feeling psychologically safe enough to seek help. Zimbabwean research illustrates how stigma can complicate help-seeking. Mushonga and colleagues (2026) identified stigma, distrust of support systems and disclosure concerns among young people in Harare and Bindura.
Similarly, Mukubvu and colleagues (2026) found that although 76.5% of students surveyed across five Harare tertiary institutions were aware of mental health services, only 16.5% had used them. While these studies were not conducted among employees, they demonstrate an important principle for workplace counselling: access to services must be accompanied by confidentiality, trust and freedom from stigma.
This raises an important question:
What value is a psychological service if people know it exists but do not feel safe enough to use it?
Confidentiality therefore goes beyond administrative procedure. Employees who fear judgement, labelling, disclosure or occupational repercussions may conceal psychological distress and delay seeking help.
Counselling Should Begin Before Crisis
Effective workplace counselling focuses on early support rather than waiting for crisis. Counselling should be viewed as a preventive resource rather than merely a response to crisis. It provides employees with a professional space to understand their experiences, recognise unhelpful patterns and develop healthier coping strategies. Khombo et al. (2023) found that formal mental health services were often considered a last resort among young people, highlighting the importance of psychoeducation and early help-seeking.
Seeking counselling should therefore be understood as self-awareness and personal responsibility rather than weakness. Workplace counselling, wellness programmes, Employee Assistance Programmes, supportive supervision and mental health education can strengthen employees’ psychological resources and promote a healthier culture of coping and wellbeing.
The deeper question is not simply:
“How do we stop substance abuse?”
It is also:
“How do we create psychologically supportive workplaces in which employees develop healthier ways of responding to distress?”
A mentally healthy workplace moves from judgement to understanding, from crisis response to prevention, and from silence to supportive conversation. Recognising the psychological distress that may underlie unhealthy coping allows employees to seek counselling without stigma. Seeking help is not weakness but an expression of self-awareness and personal responsibility. Ultimately, workplace mental health is about creating environments where employees can acknowledge difficulties, access appropriate support and develop healthier coping strategies while preserving their dignity and wellbeing.
For organisations seeking sustainable productivity, safety and employee wellbeing, investment in mental health promotion and accessible counselling services is not merely a welfare initiative but a strategic organisational necessity.Â
REFERENCES:
Chibanda, D. (2017). Reducing the treatment gap for mental, neurological and substance use disorders in Africa: Lessons from the Friendship Bench in Zimbabwe. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 26(4), 342-347.
Chibanda, D., Weiss, H. A., Verhey, R., Simms, V., Munjoma, R., Rusakaniko, S., Chingono, A., Munetsi, E., Bere, T., Manda, E., Abas, M., & Araya, R. (2016). Effect of a primary care-based psychological intervention on symptoms of common mental disorders in Zimbabwe: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 316(24), 2618-2626. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2016.19102
Doyle, A. M., et al. (2023). Common mental health and emotional and behavioural disorders among adolescents and young people in Zimbabwe. BMC Psychiatry, 23, Article 739.
International Labour Organization (ILO), & World Health Organization (WHO). (2022). Mental health at work: Policy brief. Geneva: World Health Organization and International Labour Organization.
Khantzian, E. J. (1985). The self-medication hypothesis of addictive disorders: Focus on heroin and cocaine dependence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142(11), 1259-1264.
Khombo, A., et al. (2023). Mental health help-seeking behaviours among young people in Zimbabwe. [Insert complete journal details if available].
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Mukubvu, O., et al. (2026). Awareness and utilisation of mental health services among tertiary students in Harare. [Insert complete publication details when available].
Mushonga, R. H., et al. (2026). Stigma, disclosure and mental health help-seeking among Zimbabwean youth. [Insert complete publication details when available].
World Health Organization. (2022). World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all. Geneva: World Health Organization.
