21 Jul 2015

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Tshenolo Mabeo has encouraged the ministry leadership to conduct wellness programmes and other initiatives in the ministry’s workplace country wide.

Mr Mabeo was addressing employees of his ministry during a corporate service wellness day at the ministry’s headquarters in Gaborone.

The minister emphasised the importance of an employee’s health and wellbeing. He noted that wellness in the workplace has benefits to individuals and organisations.

“Despite challenges faced by the public service, expectations are still high that we should be found to be delivering quality services to the nation,” he said.

He emphasised that it was important for the ministry leadership to find ways through which they could maintain high levels of productivity to deal with the many challenges at the workplace.

He said wellness programmes in the workplace play a critical role in improving employee’s health and productivity. “You will agree with me that employees who participate in wellness programmes are healthier, more productive and have better morale,” he said.

He said when employees perform better it also contributes positively to the relationship between the employee and the employer. Noting the theme for the event: Employee Wellness: A Key to Effective Service Delivery, he stated that wellness plays a critical role in productivity in the workplace hence the wellness helps in moulding a healthy body and a healthy mind, leading to improved performance.

Minister Mabeo said knowledge of work requires high concentration and collaboration. He stated that it was the well-designed workplaces which were key to providing opportunities and allow individuals to innovatively use them.

“Therefore, it is our desire as the leadership of this ministry to create an inclusive, healthy workplace in which employees feel empowered to help manage the ministry’s business,” he added.

For her part, Ms Gabaitsane Letlamoreng, a psychiatric nurse at Princess Marina Hospital, said there was need to take care of one’s health, especially the mind when at the workplace. She said the brain was a sensitive organ that needs attentive wellness for its wellbeing.

She said employees have little time to spend in their social activities and that in most cases they spend the whole day at their work stations.

Different activities took place during the wellness day. The health specialist delivered motivational speeches on different health issues.
There were also health screening stalls for HIV, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, eye tests and body mass index. ENDS