MVA annual staff wellness day A healthy workforce is a productive workforceThe Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) held its fifth wellness day, packed with activities for their staff in Windhoek recently, with the CEO herself taking the lead. The aim of the wellness day is to ensure that as much as they demand much from their staff; it is also their responsibility to take care of their wellbeing.
The whole idea is to assess proactive programme initiatives such as the health of staff members in terms of blood pressure, cholesterol, HIV/ Aids and stress levels, to mention a few. “We do this to inspect the workforce, because a happy work force is a productive one,” said the head of wellness services, Selma Neumbo. The wellness day started with preparations by the staff for the programme where they initially had an information sharing session with health professionals who spoke about the expectations from the activities. The staff also had a pre-counselling session and a presentation by HIV/Aids activist Immanuel Sheefeni who spoke about “the power of knowing”.
The employees were tested for HIV, hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes and Hepatitis B. Employees’ Body Mass Index (BMI) was also calculated to determine obesity levels. There were also staff knowledge, behaviour and attitude surveys done to determine whether there is a correlation between attitude and lifestyle. “We try to contain the lifestyle sickness, as that is indeed all we can control from an institutional perspective. If you don’t take care of your employee’s health it will impact negatively on the institution with absenteeism, which is associated with sickness,” said the chief of human capital Fanuel Uugwanga.
The wellness day activities took place at all MVA branches countrywide. MVA invited the Nucleus gym, Herbal Life, Nurse Moureen Amukwaya from Mister Sister and a wellness couch. After all the testing staff members were given a free massage to ease the tension. “Employee wellness for us is very important since it ensures that absenteeism is reduced because at the end of the day if your workforce is sick you cannot do proper performance appraisals. We have to take care of them for the very reason that they render our services,” concluded the CEO Rosalia Martins-Hausiku.
June Shimuoshili