By: Delaila Irma T. Calindas, Project Technical Staff II

The Commission on Higher Education – Cordillera Administrative Region through its UniFAST Unit conducted the third episode of this year’s series of the SEED Project or the Skills Enhancement and Employee Development Project on June 22, 2023, via Zoom platform. A total of 282 participants composed of the staff of the Regional Office, UniFAST Focal Persons from different Higher Education Institutions in the Region and their colleagues attended the said episode with the topic “Mental Health in the Workplace.”

Opening the program is Ms. Prisilla T. Panangwe, Chief Administrative Officer of CHED-CAR, in which she emphasized that the Regional Office gives importance to mental health just as much as cultivating physical wellbeing.

Mr. Joseph Jayson Bonifacio, RPm, Training Coordinator of National Center for Mental Health, served as the Resource Person and discussed the pertinent importance of cultivating employee’s mental health to be able to boost their productivity and performance. He also lauded the Regional Office for coming up with the episode which further attests that it truly cared for the holistic wellbeing of its employees and stakeholders.

Additionally, Mr. Bonifacio also discussed the importance of applying the 5S methodology as a way to foster mental health. The 5S Methodology is a workplace organization method that uses a list of five Japanese words: Sort (Seiri), Set in Order (Seiton), Shine (Seiso), Standardize (Seiketsu), and Sustain (Shitsuke). By applying these methods, one can help improve their workplace organization, efficiency, safety, and employee morale.

The episode was concluded with a closing remark by Dr. Bernadette C. Pal-ec, Education Supervisor II and the UniFAST Focal Person.

The SEED Project is a bi-monthly project initiative of the UniFAST Unit with the leadership of its Regional Director, Dir. Demetrio P. Anduyan Jr. It aims to provide learning and development opportunities to the Regional Employees and UniFAST Focal Persons from partner HEIs in the Region.