30 Mar 2017

It is important to keep a healthy body and mind to increase productivity in the workplace.
Speaking at a two-day wellness day at Francistown College of Technical and Vocational Education (FCTVE) on Wednesday, District agriculture coordinator in Francistown, Mr Nkaigwa Joel said they had set aside the two days away from offices to engage the staff in the physical activities as a way of promoting fitness and wellness.
He said in most cases, employees were less engaged in physical activities because of different reasons, hence the effort to squeeze the activity into their already tight schedule and engage them on fitness exercises.
He explained that they also wanted to encourage team building among employees, away from offices where everyone focused on their professions and had limited time to socialise with others from different departments.
He further said it was also an opportunity for their employees to interact with the community and share ideas or hear their concerns in order for them to know how and where to improve their delivering their services.
Further, he encouraged them to use the time to refresh and recollect so that they went back with sharp minds ready to be productive.
Satellite Private Medical Clinic representative, Dr Abel Mogorosi encouraged participants to take care of their bodies and mind so that they lived peacefully.
Dr Mogorosi said it was important to prevent getting diseases, given that prevention was better than cure while diseases commonly referred to as silent killers were on the rise as a result of the daily food people consumed.
Thus, he emphasised the need for people to keep exercising and eating healthy to fight against illnesses such as high blood pressure, sugar diabetes, heart attack and stroke, among others.
He further encouraged people to do routine checkups at clinics to see if their bodies were in a good state.
He indicated that some of the diseases such as cervical cancer, which was also common among women, can be cured if detected at an early stage.
“A peaceful mind in the workplace brings good results and a healthier environment because the customer service automatically will be high,” he said.
Also, he encouraged them to continue with physical activities and make it part of their lifestyle at their homes as it would benefit them in the long run.
Meanwhile, District Health Management Team (DHMT) health education officer, Ms Joyce Pipedi encouraged them to desist from unhealthy diets at workplaces.
Ms Pipedi said she had observed that a lot of people ate junk food during working hours everyday, something she said was not good for their health.
“Those who eat junk are also the ones who use their cars to get to their homes after work and would never want to walk home,” she added.
Thus, she urged people to walk as part of exercising if they cannot afford to pay gyms and eat healthy as well as drink lots of water to keep their bodies hydrated.
She said engaging in physical activities was highly recommended by doctors because it paved way for good blood flow, giving the body less chances of being attacked by diseases such as stroke.
Further, she said aging also increased chances of exposure to diseases, therefore adults were also recommended to exercise and good sleeping patterns.
Nonetheless, she commended the department of agriculture for taking care of its employees as they had stalls for testing for different diseases and counselling, saying that would help those who were lazy to go to clinics for tests.  ENDS