Grab : Intellect and Ngee Ann Polytechnic to Offer New Mental Wellness Programme for Gig Workers

The collaboration aims to advocate greater mental health awareness among gig workers, who may confront increased stress due to heightened consumer demands.

SINGAPORE, 10 March 2022 - Grab Singapore, a leading superapp in Southeast Asia, Intellect, Asia's fastest growing mental health tech company, and Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) have teamed up to launch a new Mental Wellness Programme tailored for gig workers.

Tapping on Intellect and NP's existing curriculum, the 'Mental Wellness: Practical Tools to Safeguard and Enhance Yours' course has been curated and customised to improve and strengthen gig workers' mental resilience and wellbeing on a personal and professional level. The programme, which will run once every month, was oversubscribed for the first session that started on 12 February. Close to 70 gig workers had signed up for it.

In recent years, there has been a rising demand for greater mental health support, as shown by a spike in the number of calls to mental health helplines and the subsequent formation of the Interagency Taskforce on Mental Health and Well-being to promote mental wellness efforts. As such, Grab, Intellect and NP hope to contribute by advocating for greater mental health awareness especially among gig workers, who may be facing increased stress due to rising consumer expectations amid the challenges brought about by the pandemic.

Charles Yee, Managing Director, Operations at Grab Singapore said: "Ensuring our driver- and delivery-partners' health and well-being has always been important to us. Due to their work conditions, our partners may find it challenging to access resources that can equip them with the right knowledge and know-how to look after their mental health. By partnering with Intellect and NP, we hope to offer a structured and accessible programme that will help our partners and gig workers better understand and take control of their mental wellbeing."

Theodoric Chew, CEO and Co-founder, Intellect said: "The pandemic has brought greater awareness of mental health, especially among workers. However, there is still a gap in mental health solutions due to misconceptions and costs. We are heartened by the forward-thinking approach by Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Grab in partnering with like-minded organisations to offer mental wellness programmes for their partners which are private, targeted and accessible. This will break the barrier for their partners to participate, who will gain better control of their mental well-being."

Christy Chung, Director of NP's Continuing Education and Training (CET) Academy, said: "We are pleased to partner Grab and Intellect in this meaningful programme to empower platform partners with practical tools to prioritise their mental well-being amidst the demands of the gig economy. This is aligned with our commitment to equip adult learners with skills to build their mental resilience."

Curation of the Mental Wellness Programmes for Gig Workers

The "Mental Wellness: Practical Tools to Safeguard and Enhance yours" course, which is co-developed with Intellect and NP, has been curated with gig workers in mind.

By the end of the course, participants will gain practical and basic understanding about mental health and learn how to better deal with their anxiety or stress more effectively.

Additionally, the course adopts a blended learning approach, which provides participants the flexibility and convenience to complete the learning at their own pace:

• Starting with a four-hour introductory lesson in a classroom, participants are guided through topics like emotional intelligence, identifying signs of and responding to stress and anxiety, and integrating healthy habits into daily lifestyle.
• After that, participants will need to complete three modules from the Intellect app that reinforce the key points learnt during the classroom session. Each module consists of several bite-sized e-learning videos, which allows driver- and delivery-partners to continue their learning during their down time, for example.

After completing the courses, participants can further their knowledge with access to Intellect's comprehensive library of self-guided modules for a period of five months.

Alan Ho, a Grab driver-partner who enrolled in the programme, said: "I attended the physical class and completed the online modules, which were very informative. I chose to sign up to have a better understanding about mental wellbeing. The skill sets I've gained will help myself as well as my loved ones in times of difficulties. I encourage other driver- and delivery- partners to join and learn how we can take care of our mental health, especially during tough situations."