University of South Africa: Wellness boost for Eastern Cape Unisans
Unisa’s Eastern Cape Region recently hosted a Wellness Day for employees at the East London IDZ Conference Centre. The purpose of the event was to encourage and promote a healthy lifestyle and positive attitudes among employees.
The Eastern Cape Regional Director, Motale Nkgoang, welcomed attendees and expressed appreciation to the Human Resources (HR) Unit for coordinating the event.
Old Mutual, the Family and Marriage Society of South Africa (FAMSA), the Eastern Cape Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, Bonitas, Aurora Health Care, the South African National Blood Service and Virgin Active held exhibits at the event to promote their services.
The representative of Old Mutual, Vuyisana Fuduswa, gave a presentation on financial education, which focused on managing personal finances and taking control of one’s money. She said that if people mismanage their personal finances, they may fall into debt, which may contribute to mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, and substance abuse. Such a situation could affect an employee’s work performance. She explained that financially unwell employees do not make the best decisions, and their work performance may be affected in the form of high absenteeism and reduced productivity in the work environment. She encouraged employees to manage their finances well for the sake of their well-being and health.
Nosi Matwa of Virgin Active spoke about the importance of exercising regularly and having a good eating plan and a healthy lifestyle. She noted that exercise is a good way of reducing stress and promoting mental well-being.
Dr Chuma Nogemane of Aurora Health Care gave a presentation on mental health awareness. He said that mental health is all about which is how you think, feel, and act. He said there are different types of mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety and stress. He mentioned that mental health issues could affect employees’ work performance and lead to high absenteeism.
Nogemane further said that an unsafe or unhealthy work environment may interfere with people’s ability to work and affect their productivity. “Good mental health enables people to work productively”, he said. Nogemane lauded Unisa HR for coordinating the Wellness Day in support of the mental well-being of employees in the work environment. In conclusion to this presentation, he noted that it is important to take care of one’s body and to know more about one’s mental health and its importance.
A FAMSA representative gave a presentation on the organisation’s service offerings, which include counselling for mental health issues, and psychological and emotional support.
After the presentations there was a one-hour session during which a Virgin Active instructor oversaw sporting activities, exercises and aerobics. The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture oversaw indigenous games and medical schemes Bonitas and Aurora Health Care offered medical screenings.
Nkgoang closed the event by thanking all the participants. He expressed his gratitude to the external stakeholders for helping to make the event a success and contributing crucial information about mental health and wellness to Unisa employees. Corporate gifts were presented to the stakeholder representatives as tokens of appreciation for their presence.