KNOW YOUR NUMBERS was this year’s theme at the Annual Employee Wellness Day that took place at The Durban University of Technology at the Sports Centre on the Steve Biko campus, recently. The number of staff in attendance and their participation in the health screenings contributed to the success of the day.
The event was organised by the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) within Human Resources Department, in partnership with PSG, a health care consultant. The Employee Wellness day has been an ongoing event since 2009 and is held to make sure that the DUT staff improve their overall health and wellbeing. The wellness day provided a platform for staff to undertake the necessary health screenings in order to know their current health status and to prevent potential chronic diseases.
Amongst the many service providers at the event were the DUT Somatology department, The South African National Blood Services, the Emergency Medical Care and Rescue, Medical aid schemes, financial planning institutions as well as beauty and cosmetics consultants.
Samantha Rajcoomar of the Employee Assistance Programme emphasised the importance of employee wellness for effective work performance.“In order for employees to perform optimally, they need to have complete wellness. This event will allow staff to walk away with their numbers so that they can take charge of making the necessary choices for a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, this day will also provide employees with the knowledge, tools and motivation to improve their overall health,” she said.
While some staff opted to test for glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol, others preferred EMR’s education on performing CPR. Staff also enjoyed the pampering sessions of massages and nail care offered by the Somatology Department. The highlight also included aerobic sessions where staff participated and this indeed created a positive vibe.
Portia Redmond, Manager at DUT’s Design Studio, has been attending the Employee Wellness Day for three years.
“This Initiative is very helpful and forces me to come out of the office and participate in a non-managerial function, this allows you to come and interact and engage in DUT community activities. It is very helpful because most of the time we don’t really pay attention to our medical health until a symptom arises; this initiative allows us to tackle those issues,” said Redmond.
Pictured: Staff participating in the aerobics session at the event.
Sthabile Gwala
