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AN OVERVIEW OF THE IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE WELLNESS IN THE PUBLIC BY GILTON TAFIRENYIKA MADEME
Introduction During the early early industrialisation industrialisation period period employees employees at work were treated treated as separate separate entities entities from their their persona personall lives. lives. This This entaile entailed d that, that, whateve whateverr problems problems employee employees s faced at home it was up to the employees to solve and the employers were not interest interested ed to asssoc asssociate iate work life and personal personal life. In South South Africa, Africa, the new public public management management system has has increasingly since since its inception, acknowleged acknowleged the the impact of overall empoyees welfare on their working life. This recognition has been given further impetus by section 26(a) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No. 32 of 2000), which requires a municipality, in the drafting of its IDP, to place special emphasis on its “most critical development and internal transformation needs. Matlala (1999: 24) states that, failure by organisations to adopt employee wellness into their cultu culture re will will inev inevita itably bly lead lead to the the escal escalati ation on of sickn sicknes ess s and the the deter deterior iorat ation ion of organisational performance. In the contem contempora porary ry world, world, both private private and public public organis organisatio ations ns and occupa occupation tional al health practitioners practitioners are starting to adopt a proactive proactive approach to managing managing employee wellness wellness and health matters respectively. respectively. Factors that impact on the health, safety and wellness of employees include but are not limited to stress, substance abuse, sexual harassm harassment, ent, conflict conflict,, violence violence,, injuries injuries and acciden accidents. ts. Upon Upon realisin realising g the benefit benefits s of employee performance performance management, management, quality circles, circles, wellness programs programs in the private sector organisations, the new Public Management emphasises the adoption of such programs by the public sector as well. This will enable development in the private sector to avoid outpassing service delivery by the public sector institutions. Firstly Firstly,, this assignme assignment nt
will extensivel extensively y discuss discuss the concept concept of employe employee e wellness wellness
highlighting the typical dimensions of wellness. Secondly, the importance of employee wellness programs will be discussed and more specifically to public sector employees. Thirdly Thirdly example examples s of employee employee assistance assistance program programs s will be relishe relished d and discuss discussed ed extensively under the public sector context.
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2. An overview of employee wellness There is no universally accepted definition of wellness. Several scholars and academics have endeavoured to come up with their theoretical description of wellness. Wellness is; •
a dynam dynamic ic proc process ess of becom becoming ing aware aware of and and makin making g cons conscio cious us choic choices es torwards a more balanced and healthy lifestyle (Chan).
•
The employees’ state of optimised social, physical, and mental health and wellbeing.
•
a multidimensional state of being, describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life and a sense of well-being (Charles B. Corbin of Arizona State University) .
•
Much Much more more than than merel merely y physic physical al healt health, h, exerc exercise ise or nutri nutritio tion. n. It is the the full full integ tegrat ration ion
of
states tes
of
phys hysical, al,
ment ental,
(http://wellness.ucr.edu/seven_dimensions.html •
and
spirit iritu ual
wellell-b bein eing
).
The condition of good physical and mental health, especially when maintained by proper diet, exercise, and habits ( http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wellness )
•
an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence (http://definitionofwellness.com/ ( http://definitionofwellness.com/ ). Where; ➢
Process means that improvement is always possible
➢
Aware means that we are continuously seeking more information about how we can improve.
➢
Choices means that we consider a variety of options and select those in our best interest.
➢
Success is determined by each individual to be their collection of life accomplishments. (http://definitionofwellness.com/ ( http://definitionofwellness.com/ )
Bratton Bratton and Gold Gold (2007:50 (2007:503) 3) defines defines wokplace wokplace wellnes wellness s as any voluntary voluntary healthy improving improving programme programme and activity, activity, instigated by b y the employer employer to effect changes in nonoccupat occupationa ionall health health behavio behaviours. urs. Smoking Smoking cessatio cessation, n, persona personall fitness fitness programs programs,, and empl employe oyee e assis assistan tance ce progr program ams s
are early early exam example ples s of work workpla placece-im impro prove veme ment nt
initiativ initiatives. es. Other Other exampl examples es of wellnes wellness s program program include include;; a smokesmoke-free free workpla workplace, ce,
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employer sponsored sports, discounted gym facilities, health examinations offered to employees, ‘health fairs hosted on premises, wellness newletters, smoking cessation incen incentiv tives, es, weig weight ht loss loss incen incentiv tives, es, blood bloodpre presur sure e testi testing ng,, energ energyy-ba base sed d therap therapy y serminars and employee assistance program (EAP). Thus wellness can be defined as a multi-dimensional state of being where individuals become aware of and make choices toward a more successful existence by having a more balanced and healthy lifestyle, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
3. Dimensions of wellness There has been a general misconception that, when the concept of wellness wringles into peoples ears it is only limited to physical wellness. Wellness exists in several dime dimensi nsions ons and and the the most most notab notable le dime dimensi nsions ons
includ include; e; socia sociall welln wellnes ess, s, physi physical cal
wellnes wellness, s, emotion emotional al wellnes wellness, s, career career wellnes wellness, s, intellec intellectual tual wellnes wellness, s, environ environmen mental tal wellness and spiritual wellness. The dimensions can now be discussed. 3.1 Social wellness Social wellness wellness is the ability to relate to and connect with other people in our world. Our ability ability to establis establish h and maintain maintain positiv positive e relation relationship ships s with family family,, friends friends and coworkers workers contributes contributes to our Social Social wellnes wellness. s. Mendoza Mendoza describ described ed it as about about having having satisfactory satisfactory inter-personal relationships relationships and positive interactions interactions with others. It involves lear learni ning ng soci social al skil skills ls to deve develo lop p a good good supp suppor ortt syst system em and and deep deep,, mean meanin ingf gful ul relationships. Having good communication and listening skills, practicing empathy and compassion as well as caring for others can lead to more satisfying and meaningful relationships.
In
turn,
this
can
promote
better
health
and
wellness
(http://www.examiner.com http://www.examiner.com). ). This entails that employees enjoying positive relationships relationships with other people in their working as well as outside work environment will tend to enjoy their work life in as much as they do their personal life. 3.2 Physical wellness Physical wellness is the ability to maintain a healthy quality of life that allows us to get through through our daily activiti activities es without without undue undue fatigue fatigue or physical physical stress. stress. The ability to recognize recognize that our behaviors have a significant impact on our wellness wellness and adopting adopting healt healthfu hfull habit habits s (rout (routine ine check checkups ups,, a bala balance nced d diet, diet, exerc exercise ise,, etc.) etc.) while while avoid avoiding ing
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destructive habits (tobacco, drugs, alcohol, etc.) will lead to optimal physical wellness. Physical wellness involves physical activity to build endurance, flexibility, strength and fitness. It can be achieved through regular exercise, proper diet and nutrition, sleep and rest rest as well well as avoi avoida danc nce e of toba tobacc cco o use, use, drug drug abus abuse e and and exce excess ssiv ive e alco alcoho holl consumption (Mendoza- http://www.examiner.com http://www.examiner.com). ). Further more physical wellness can entail the ability to stay out of preventable sicknesses, for example the deadly HIV/ AIDS pandemic, swine flu (N1H1), tuberculosis(TB) by exercising healthy living habits. Public sector entities can do so by ensuring that, TB and swine flu employees are kept separate from healthy employees. Smoking can also be restricted to certain places to avoid passive smoking. 3.3 Emotional wellness Emotional wellness is the ability to understand ourselves and cope with the challenges life can bring. The ability to acknowledge and share feelings of anger, fear, sadness or stres stress; s; hope hope,, love, love, joy and and happi happines ness s in a prod product uctive ive mann manner er cont contrib ribute utes s to our our Emotional
wellness
(University
of
California
Riverside-
http://wellness.ucr.edu/seven_dimensions.html ). For example, how one as an individual controls self emotions when offended by a co-worker, colleague or supervisor. The way one reacts will determine own level of emotional wellness. Public sector employees can maint maintain ain this this by facil facilita itatin ting g spor sportin ting g activ activiti ities es amon among g its employ employee ees. s. This This helps helps employees to accept the challenge of defeat and therefore helps them emotionally when they fail to achieve targeted objectives. 3.4 Career wellness or Occupational wellness Career wellness is the ability to get personal personal fulfillm fulfillment ent from our jobs or our chosen chosen career fields while still maintaining balance in our lives. Our desire to contribute in our careers to make a positive impact on the organizations we work in and to society as a whole whole leads leads to Oc Occu cupa patio tional nal welln wellnes ess s (Univ (Univers ersity ity of Calif Califor ornia nia Rivers Riverside ide). ). Caree Career r wellness in public sector can be enhanced through training and development programs. Employees get motivated when they realize that they have an opportunity to grow though promotions in the organization they work for. 3.5 Intellectual wellness Intellectual Intellectual wellness is the ability to open our minds to new ideas and experiences that can be applied to personal decisions, group interaction and community betterment. The
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desire to learn new concepts, improve skills and seek challenges in pursuit of lifelong learning contributes to our Intellectual wellness (University of California Riverside). 3.6 Environmental wellness Environmental wellness is the ability to recognize our own responsibility for the quality of the air, the water and the land that surrounds us. The ability to make a positive impact on the quality of our environment be it our homes, our communities or our planet contributes contributes to our Environmental Environmental wellness wellness (University of California Riverside). Riverside). Mendoza sees it as involving limited exposure or satisfactory management of aspects of the environment that can affect health and well-being, including, toxic chemicals, radiation, biologic biological al agents, agents, electro electromag magneti netic c radiati radiation, on, noise, noise, air and water water pollutio pollution, n, tobacco tobacco smoke, climate change, food safety, waste disposal, hazardous materials and vector control. 3.7Spiritual wellness Spiritual wellness is the ability to establish peace and harmony in our lives. The ability to develop congruency between values and actions and to realize a common purpose that binds creation together contributes to our Spiritual wellness (University of California Riverside). Riverside). This is done by organizations through through allowing them to participate participate in their religious organizations, for example Seventh Day Christians who attend church services on Saturday will feel offended if asked to work on Saturday. Thus employees should be valued regardless of their religious as well as belief and cultural values. 4. The Challenge to the state of wellness among public sector employees While the concept of wellness been acknowedged above, it can be agreed that wellness is a multi-dimensional state of being where individuals become aware of and make choices choices toward a more more success successful ful existenc existence e by having having a more more balanced balanced and healthy healthy lifestyle in inter alia proper diet, exercise, and habits. For one one reason or the other other,, employees may find find themselves unable unable to strike a balanced and healthy lifestyle thus they find themselves in a condition opposite to wellness. It can can be easy to note that many attributes may lead to this condition which which not not only only nega negativ tively ely affec affects ts the the emplo employe yee’ e’s s perso personal nal life life but but also also the the job perfomance of the employee in the organisation. Erasmus et al (2005:399) argues that not all absenteeism cases are related to poor physical health , some are also attitudinal. Attitudinal cases affected by human resources management activities and practices and
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a host host of other other exter externa nall factor factors s can can also also howev however er be relat related ed to the the sociol sociologi ogical cal,, psychological or mental well-being of a person. An extract from the Draft Employee Health and Wellness Strategic Framework for the Public Service , which encapsulates where the Public Service wishes to go, reads“The objective of this framework seeks to represent an integrated, needs ‐driven, participative, and holistic approach to Employee Health and Wellness in the Public Service. The inte integr grat ated ed appr approa oach ch to empl employ oyee ee heal health th,, safe safety ty and and well wellne ness ss,, reco recogn gnis ises es the the impor importan tance ce of indiv individu idual al healt health, h, safet safety y and welln wellness ess in relat relation ion to orga organis nisati ation onal al wellness of various Public Service organisations and Agencies”(Kgang 2008). In this case organisational organisational wellness depends on wellness of the public sector employees, thus the reason for existence can only be established when the employees are well in all their human dimensions.
5. The importance of employee wellness programs to public service employees Some studies indicate that offering EAPs may result in various benefits for employers, including lower medical costs, reduced turnover and absenteeism, and higher employee productivity and morale. However, there is some dispute as to whether such studies are impar impartia tiall and and scien scientif tifica ically lly valid valid,, part particu icular larly ly those those studie studies s perfo perform rmed ed by the the EAP EAP providers themselves. EAPs may also provide other services to employers, such as supervi supervisory sory consult consultatio ations, ns, support support to troubled troubled work work teams, teams, trainin training g and educati education on programs, and critical incident services (http://en.wikipedia.org).. The broad array of services provided to employers by today's EAPs make a good busin busines ess s case case for exter externa nall progra programs ms.. Extern External al EAPs EAPs can can provi provide de more more than than just just psycholo psychologic gical al counsel counseling ing through through the integrat integration ion of a host host of "work/li "work/life" fe" resource resources. s. These kinds of resources can help employees wrestling with the associated demands of starting a family, dealing with personal finances, legal problems or the stresses of being a working working caregive caregiverr with with aging aging parents parents.. A full-serv full-service, ice, integrat integrated ed externa externall EAP can provide all these services through one single, toll-free number that is accessible 24 hours a day and 7 days a week (http://en.wikipedia.org).. External EAPs also provide the added benefit to employees of delivering confidential counseling counseling services off-site, away from the eyes and ears of fellow workers, managers,
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or the Human Resources department. It needs to be noted, however, that EAP services are paid for by employers who then become the "clients" of the EAP company. A highquali quality ty EAP EAP will will effe effecti ctive vely ly commu communi nica cate te to employ employee ees s that that the organ organiza izatio tion n is sponsoring the benefit but that it is confidential (within the scope of state and federal laws) and free to them. These EAPs maintain a strict adherence to the concept of serving serving two clients; clients; the employe employerr and the employe employee. e. If the employee employee improve improves s as a result of the use of this benefit, then both the employer and the employee are winners-the employer employer has a good, good, highly highly motivat motivated ed and high-perfor high-performin ming g employee employee and the employee gains assistance with a personal problem that was previously previously impacting their ability to focus on their job (http://en.wikipedia.org).. Emplo Employe yers rs real realise ise that that emplo employe yee e welln wellnes ess s impro improve ves s prod produc uctiv tivity ity and and moral morale e and and reduces reduces excessiv excessive e absente absenteeism eism and health health costs(N costs(Nel el et al,2008: al,2008:317) 317).. Accordin According g to Berman et al 200:194, the goals of wellness programs are to alter unhealthy personal habits and lifestyles and to promote behaviours conducive to healthy and well-being. Employers offer such services as health assessment (first aid and emergency), risk appraisals, screenings (blood pressure checks, blood sugar and cholesterol checks, injection (allergy and immunizations, and healthy and nutrition education/ counseling. Robb Robbin ins s (197 (1978: 8:32 323) 3) high highli ligh ghts ts the the impo import rtan ance ce of of ensu ensuri ring ng that that the the work work environmentis free of unneccessary hazards to safety, and that conditions are such that employees are also not exposed to threats to their physical or mental health. Three reas reason ons s
name namely ly,,
ethi ethica call
consi onside dera rati tion ons, s,
lega legall
cosi coside dera rati tion ons s
and and
econ econom omic ic
cons consid ider erat atio ions ns were were give given n for for this this impe impera rati tive ve.. Furt Furthe herm rmor ore, e, Brat Bratto ton n and and Gold Gold (2007:484) write that there are strong economic, legal, psychological and moral reasons why managers should take health, safety and wellness issues seriously. These reasons can now be discussed in detail and put in the public sector perspective. 5.1 Economic considerations The economic considerations entail direct costs and indirect costs. Direct costs are those those costs related related to lost producti production on due to an accident accident or illness illness for example example
a
municipal municipal engineer who can not attend attend to his chores because because he was injured injured whilst drivi driving ng his perso persona nall car car home home unde underr the the influ influenc ence e of alcoh alcohol. ol. In a more more practi practical cal example on August 27, 1999, a Pennysylvanian woman was beaten by her husband
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and afterwards called the police and obtained order of protection. However the woman’s husband continued to show up at her workplace. Meanwhile after showing up on August 30, 1999 the husband asked his wife’s managers when she was coming to work that evening. Unfortunately the husband came back at the said time and shot her wife before turning the gun on himself, fortunately the wife survived miraculously. She went on to sue her emoplyer, emoplyer, claiming negligence in failing to call police when her husband husband arrrive at the work place, failing to adequate security , and failing to implement and enforce a domestic violence policy for abused employees (Maidment, 2005:143). Thus domestic violence does not remain “domestic” by staying at home when its victims go to work. Literally after this fatal incident, there can be no doubt as to how the organisation approached its domestic violence policy after suffering direct costs for the ensuing damages. damages. The indirect costs include the overtime payments necessary necessary to make up for lost for lost production, production, the cost of retaining a replacement employee and the legal cost associated with court hearings in contested cases (Bratton and Gold, 2007:484). Considering an article titled “ Civil servants in debt trap”, 444 senior managers including directors-general directors-general (DGs), deputy directors-general directors-general and heads of department formed part of the 216 857 public servants who failed to service their debts during 2006/07 financial financial year covered by the Public Service Report (PSC) (Sunday Times, Times, 24 February 2008, 15:2). The report on that article raises eye-brows on varied issues. If the accounting officers are failing to manage their own resources thereby compromising their own welfare, how can the very same persons be able to manage the public funds with integrity integrity,, honesty honesty and impeccably impeccably thus without without any fault fault of corrupti corruption. on. Thus in that regard the report by the PSC urged the government to roll out a fully fledged employeeassistance programme that focuses on the financial wellness of public servants, offering lessons on financial management. Erasmus et al (2005:399) write that in more recent times, however with the spiraling costs of medical care, as well as the growing realization realization that absenteeism costs a lot of mone money y and and that that labo labour ur prod produc ucti tivi vity ty must must be impr improv oved ed,, mana manage geme ment nt has has been been cons conside iderin ring g altern alternati atives ves that that may yield yield resul results ts supe superio riorr to the the reac reactiv tive, e, mini minimu mum m legalist legalistic ic approac approach. h. According According to an expert expert on, “Health “Health care needs needs total total company company management”, 1993) the “direct costs of health care financing through medical aid have been been escalat escalating ing at 50% above the Consumer Consumer Price Price Index Index (CPI) (CPI) for several several years. years.
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Santhey (1993:14) indicates that medical costs rose beyond control over the period 1985-1990, with medical aid premiums having risen by 34%. Thus organizations have come to realize that the costs linked to maintaining medical schemes can no longer be afforded and therefore sustained.
5.2 Legal Considerations Bratton and Gold (2007:484) distinguish between individual rights and collective rights. Individual rights are those rights evolving from common law, and every employer has a vicari vicariou ous s comm common on law duty duty to provi provide de a safe safe work working ing envir environ onme ment nt for her her or/ or/ his employees. employees. Collective health and safety rights are rights that arises from the negotiated negotiated collective agreements between unions and management. In an overwhelming display of unity, unity, over 150 000 workers employed by municipalities municipalities and belonging belonging to both South African African Municipa Municipall Worke Workers rs Union Union (SAMWU (SAMWU)) and Indepen Independent dent Municipa Municipall and Allied Trade Trade Union (IMATU) (IMATU) across the country rejected the latest wage offer of the employer employer body, body, South South African African Local Local Governm Government ent Associat Associationion-SALG SALGA. A. SAMWU SAMWU togethe togetherr with IMA IMATU memb member ers s will will emba embark rk on stri strike ke acti action on from from Mond Monday ay 27 July July 2009 2009 in all all municipalities in every Province of the country ( www.samwu.org.za www.samwu.org.za). ). This clearly reflects on how government particularly local government should consider the financial wellness of their employees (municipal workers) seriously, failure which workers would embark on strike strike action actions s whic which h have have stalk stalked ed servi service ce deliv delivery ery count country ry over over with with citie cities s like like Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria receiving more imminent impact. It can be easy to imagine imagine how cities may look like if refuse refuse is not removed removed and water is not provided in such big metropolitan cities. Legally there are also requirements placed on the employer (public sector) by the law for example the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) (Act No. 75 of 1997). Chapter 3 of BCEA provides for, aspects such as annual, sick and maternity leaves which are all important to any employees well-being although although maternity maternity leave only applies applies to women women who get pregnan pregnantt on the working working course. Regulations on minimum wage should also be observed by all public sector entities to avoid legal battles between the employee and the respective entity. 5.3 Psychological considerations
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In Beer et al’s (1984) Human Resources Management model , it is recognised that going beyond the the legal requirement of ‘due diligence’ a healthy organisation can have a strong positive effect on the psychological contract by strengthening employee commitm commitment, ent, motivation motivation and loyalty loyalty.. There There is some some evidenc evidence e to indicat indicate e that work system may have effects on physical health, mental health, and longevity of life itself (Beer et al ,1984:153). ,1984:153). 5.4 Moral Considerations Heal Healthy thy and and welln wellnes ess s issue issues s have have impli implicat cation ions s for corpo corporat rate e respo respons nsibi ibilit lity y and and managerial ethics. In this regard, Gerwirth (1991) ,argues that those individuals who contribute to the causation of of work related diseases for example asbestosis, lung cancer and exposure to second hand smoke and who do so knowingly can be held to be both causally and morally responsible for their action. Thus it is the duty of public managers to ensure that their employees and subordinates are not unduly subjected to situ situat atio ions ns that that can can lead lead them them to illn illnes ess s of any any natu nature re.. For For exam exampl ple e empl employ oyee ees s responsible for refuse collection and transportation of hazardous material should be provided with protective clothing and other mechanisms at all times to reduce their risk and subject them to seasonal testing for infections such as Tuberculosis (TB). Deductively, it can be stated that the need for employee wellness programs is rooted from; economic, legal, psychological and moral considerations. Holistically, the following importan importantt factors factors can be summari summarised sed to be importan importantt for public sector sector to prioritis prioritise e wellness programs: •
Promote better health.
•
Motivate employees through education to choose and follw a health lifestyle.
•
Reduce employee absenteeism.
•
Reduce health and injury costs.
•
Provide an evironment which supports healthy lifestyle choices.
•
Avoid legal battles with employees.
•
Stre Streng ngth then enin ing g commitment.
the the
psyc psycho holo logi gica call
cont contra ract ct
whic which h
incr increa ease ses s
empl employ oyee ees s
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The above can be achieved through Employee Assistance Programs, which can now be discussed.
6. Employee Assistance programs (EAP’s) Employe Employee e Assistan Assistance ce Program Programs s (EAPs) (EAPs) are employe employee e benefit benefit program programs s offere offered d by many many emplo employe yers rs,, typic typically ally in conj conjunc unctio tion n with with a health health insu insuran rance ce plan. plan. EAPs EAPs are intended to help employees deal with personal problems that might adversely impact their work performance, health, and well-being. EAPs generally include assessment, short short-te -term rm coun counsel seling ing and and refer referral ral servi services ces for for emplo employe yees es and and their their hous househo ehold ld members (http://en.wikipedia.org ). Nel et al (2008:318) defines an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) as a structured intervention that offers a broad range of services aime aimed d at identi identify fyng ng indivi individu dual al probl problem ems, s, such such as subs substan tance ce abus abuse e and and finan financia cial, l, relationship, relationship, and mental problems that adversely adversely affect employee well-being well-being and job performance Although Although EAPs EAPs tend
to take on differe different nt forms in different different organisat organisations ions,, they are
broadly used to; deal with the HIV/ Aids pandemic, reduce excessive substance abuse, elimi elimina nate te all all forms forms of haras harassm sment ent inclu includin ding g sexu sexual al and and racial racial haras harassme sment nt,, avoid avoid situations where there is propensity for violence, conflict and rage(Nel et al , 2008:318). The issues for which EAPs provide support vary, but examples include •
Substance abuse
•
Safe working environment
•
Emotional distress
•
major life events, including births, accidents and deaths
•
health care concerns
•
financial or legal concerns
•
family/personal relationship issues
•
work relationship issues
•
concerns about aging parents (http://en.wikipedia.org).
The 2004 State of the Public Public Service(SO Service(SOPS) PS) Report Report observed observed and suggested suggested that, HIV/AIDS threatens to place enormous pressure on the workplace. In 2005, the State of
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the Public Service (SOPS) Report of that same year revealed that a study estimated that 10% of public servants may be be affected by AIDS , with a quarter possibly in 2012. It was further observed and suggested that EAPs are still weakly integrated into program programs s such as HIV and AIDS in the SOPS report report of 2006 while the 2007 SOPS SOPS report suggests that a richer appreciation from human resources components is needed of the strategic importance of their functions to the functioning of departments. The 2008 SOPS SOPS report report outlines outlines that the the scourge scourge of HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS is a recurring challenge challenge for the Public Service and that it needs to be concerned as it is the largest employer in the country. In 2004, HIV prevalence rate amongst educators in in public shools was 12.7% or around 50 000 educators (2008 State of the Public Service Report). The exposition clearly larments larments the fact that a considerable proportion proportion of the public sector employees employees face a challenge on their health thus health wellness which in turn affect the other dimensions of wellness. Thus having witnessed sympotoms and effects of AIDS on employees in the past, it can be easy to imagine that the infected public service sector employees will be further incapacitated to carry out their normal duties while comp complet lete e servi service ce may be lost lost when when they they die hence hence the need need to ensu ensure re that that their their physical wellness is cutioned against HIV/AIDS. 7. Counselling Cloete (1985: 214) writes that counselling takes place everywhere, where only two people are present. Cloete argues that if three or more are present, it becomes a meeti meeting ng and and perso personal nal matte matters rs can can not not be discus discusse sed d openl openly y. Coun Counsel sello lorr must must not not interfere in the private life affairs of an employee except where the private affairs have a detri detrime ment ntal al influ influen ence ce on the the empl employe oyee’ e’s s matte matters rs often often subje subjects cts of coun counsel sellin ling. g. According to Cloete (1985: 216), the follwing matters are ooften subjects of counselling; •
physical illness (only healthy workers can perform their work properly).
•
merit merit rating/ rating/ approval approval (requires (requires supervisor supervisors s to discuss discuss with subordin subordinates ates the performance quantitatively and qualitatively expected of them.
•
Psychol Psychologic ogical al and emotion emotional al troubles troubles(( requires requires supervi supervisors sors through through sensitive sensitive discussions and counselling, to protect their subordinates against stress).
13
•
Abus Abuse e of alco alcoho holl and and drug drug abus abuse e (req (requi uire res s that that supe superv rvis isor ors s advi advise se thei their r subordinates wth insight and see to it that they obtain expert assistance and treatment where necessary).
•
Preve Preventi ntion on of acci acciden dents( ts( requi requires res supe supervi rviso sors rs to utili utilise se all all oppo opportu rtunit nities ies to counsel subordinates who appear to be prone to accidents and injuries).
•
Disci Discipli pline ne (requ (require ires s superv superviso isors rs to discu discuss ss unac unacce cepta ptable ble behav behaviou iourr with with subordin subordinates ates to prevent prevent miscondu misconduct ct for which which the subordi subordinat nates es will have to be punished.
•
Absente Absenteeism eism(req (require uire superviso supervisors rs to discuss discuss this matter matter with subordina subordinates tes
in
order to ascertain ascertain the reasons reasons for the absences absences from work work and and to find and and apply remedial measures. 8. Medical Examinations prior to employment Gover Governm nment ent Emplo Employe yees es Medica Medicall Sche Schemes mes (GEMS) (GEMS) has has alrea already dy,, by virtu virtue e of the the services it provides to over 250,000 employees, begun to contribute meaningfully to the health status of public service employees. employees. The medical needs of employees enrolled on GEMS are being met (claims are being paid). Detailed health risk analyses for each Government department give representative indicators of the health status of each department. Many of the interventions required to mitigate the clinical risk facing these departments is available through GEMS. GEMS high risk, compliance management and disease manag anagem emen entt
prog progra ramm mmes es
aim aim
to
modif odify y
beha behavi vio our
and and
impr improv ove e
outc outcom omes es
substantially. In terms of HIV the Scheme has implemented, in addition to the disease management programme, communication campaigns aimed at the workplace to: •
Encourage testing;
•
Promote understanding of the benefits of the HIV disease management program;
•
Make employees aware of how to access these benefits; and
•
Stress the importance of registering as early as possible on the program (Kgang, 2008).
9. Conclusion
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It can be argued that human resources is the greatest resource that any organisation can have, be it a public or private organisation. This is supported by the fact that all other resources resources in an organisation organisation for example financial, financial, materials materials and assets require the attention of staff members or employees without which the resources becomes futile. The argument argument however only holds water if human resources are well managed in the organisation. In this assignment wellness of employees has been discussed as a critical element of employees’ lives. lives. The seven dimensions; dimensions; social, physical, emotional, emotional, career, career, intellectual intellectual and spiritual spiritual (SPECIES-acrony (SPECIES-acronym) m) wellness wellness were discussed. The Challenge to the state of wellness among employees, the importance of employee wellness programs to public service employees, and employee assistance programs (EAP’s) were also discussed. To give specific clarity on the importance of wellness program programs, s, the four conside considerati ration; on; econom economic, ic, legal, legal, moral moral and psycho psychologi logical cal were were extensively discussed using applicable examples.It has been shown through examples that the wellness of public sector wellness if not properly managed affects their job performance and ultimately the level of service delivery. Also it has been realised that, comprom compromisin ising g the well being being of employees employees will increase increase the costs of recruiting recruiting new employees and treating for preventable diseases like TB and swine flu (N1H1).
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