I/O Psychology Namibia

Namibia is grappling with a sobering truth, that financial stress is no longer just draining wallets, it is claiming lives. Namibians have reported severe financial strain, often struggling to budget, manage debt, or cover basic expenses. These pressures are not only driving anxiety and depression but also contributing to the country’s rising suicide rates. Even Prime Minister Hon. Elijah Nguarare has openly shared how financial collapse nearly broke him. This is far more than an economic challenge, it is a full-blown mental health crisis. Globally, research consistently links economic hardship such as unemployment, debt, and poverty, to a heightened risk of suicide. In Namibia, this despair is often deepened by cultural taboos around masculinity, leaving many men feeling unable to admit vulnerability while silently bearing crushing psychological burdens.  The high cost of living in Namibia has become an undeniable reality, especially in urban hubs like Windhoek. With commodit...

Workplace wellness isn’t just about ticking compliance boxes or hosting the occasional yoga class at lunchtime. It’s about weaving health (mental, physical, and emotional) into the very fabric of an organisation. And at the heart of this mission lies the expertise of industrial psychologists, professionals uniquely equipped to understand both people and systems. Industrial psychologists bring a behavioural and systemic lens to wellness, which means they need to be fluent in several key areas. They must understand workplace health and safety regulations, ensuring that wellness initiatives don’t clash with legal or regulatory requirements. They design and deliver wellness programs tailored to an organisation’s culture and workforce demographics, focusing on mental health, physical health, and work-life balance. From resilience workshops to ergonomic improvements and burnout prevention strategies, their role is to create practical interventions that support employees. Psychologists must ...

  When the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Hon. James Sankwasa, dropped the hammer last month and dissolved the entire Katima Mulilo Town Council, it wasn’t just another political headline, it was a governance earthquake. Hon. Sankwasa’s decision came with immediate effect, citing illegal land-for-goods transactions, ignored directives, governance failures, and unresolved labour disputes. And just like that, the council’s powers vanished into thin air, absorbed by the minister under Section 92(2) of the Local Authorities Act of 1992. For the people of Katima Mulilo, it wasn’t just about losing leaders; it was about a town suddenly being put in administrative limbo, with questions hanging thick in the air  What happens next? Who ensures this doesn’t happen again? At its core, the Katima Mulilo saga isn’t only about mismanagement of land or labour disputes; it’s about human behaviour in leadership roles. Councillors ignored directives, got caught in transactional polit...