Johannesburg - What do chairs, physical activity, canteen food and design have to do with the mental and physical health of South African employees?
Everything, according to corporate wellness experts who say the above are some of the leading factors that, if not considered, could be the difference between productive, results-driven employees and sickly, unmotivated ones.
But what makes a “healthy company”?
“Corporate wellness is looking after the overall well-being of employees, be it physical, emotional, spiritual or even financial, to drive productivity for themselves and the organisation,” said Healthy Living Consulting founder Ronald Abvajee, ahead of Corporate Wellness Week that starts on Thursday.
In November last year, Discovery Vitality released its Healthy Company Index, which showed that while there had been a significant shift in how employee health was viewed by companies globally, staff were still unhealthy.
“We spend a lot of time at work and this opens up an opportunity for work to help us lead healthy lifestyles. It can be a win-win from a work and well-being perspective. From a business perspective, there are clear returns in promoting employee health,” said Dr Craig Nossel, head of Vitality Wellness at Discovery Vitality.
He said wellness had four factors. “First is smoking cessation, and creating a culture where people are educated against smoking and counselled to stop smoking. Second is activity – many people are inactive and spend most of their time sitting, so we encourage having walking groups and using the stairs. Third is nutrition and how to make healthy food more enticing at the canteens.”
The fourth factor, Nossel said, was alleviating and destigmatising stress. He said employers needed to understand the broader culture that drove stress and anxiety at work and how these could be treated. The health index showed that some of the factors stressing staff were a lack in consultation about change, lack of control or choice on what to do at work, unrealistic time pressure and bullying at work.
Corporate wellness coach and founder of Employee Lifestyle Improvement Marilu Meiring said that how we sit also played a role in our physical health, and local companies often laggged behind in understanding the benefits of ergonomic seating, opting for cheaper chairs.
A recent survey by pharmaceutical firm Pharma Dynamics showed that many office workers experienced increased allergy symptoms at work.
Of the 1 300 survey respondents polled nationally, more than a quarter said their allergies worsened when at the office, and 42 percent took time off work because of allergies.
Pharma Dynamics spokeswoman Wilmi Hudsonberg blamed poor ventilation and lack of cleanliness for increased allergy symptoms in offices.
The Star