The Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA CONSULT) has called on corporate leaders to incorporate a holistic healthcare system into their companies’ policies and strategic plans.
“Corporate entities must develop and have a holistic healthcare system which addresses, but is not limited to, physical, mental, social, cultural, and financial well-being, moving beyond traditional perks of the worker, as the well-being of employees is directly linked to the growth of the organisation,” Francis Ameyibor, Executiv Director of CDA Consult, has said.
Mr Ameyibor, who is a holistic health advocate, was speaking in Accra during the rejuvenated CDA Consult weekly health information dissemination platform dubbed
“Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility.”
The CDA Consult weekly health information dissemination platform is an initiative aimed at promoting health-related communication and providing a platform for health information dissemination to influence personal health choices through improved health literacy.
Holistic wellness
He explained that research shows organisations adopting holistic wellness programmes see tangible returns in performance, retention and cost savings, stressing “that it is essential for workers to strike a balance between work and healthy living.”
Emphasising the benefits of building a healthier workforce, he said holistic healthcare was non-negotiable; employers and employees, therefore, must develop and incorporate holistic healthcare systems into their corporate strategy.
Mr Ameyibor explained that a corporate holistic healthcare system as a policy was an emerging corporate healthy governance strategy, which ensured that management developed a holistic corporate wellness programme as part of employee welfare packages.
“A corporate holistic healthcare system is an approach that considers the employee’s whole person — physical, mental, emotional, social, and sometimes spiritual — in the pursuit of optimal health and wellness, which has a direct link to the employee’s performance,” Mr Ameyibor explained.
He said a holistic healthcare system hinges on six pillars and listed them out as mental and emotional health support, physical fitness initiatives, social connection and inclusion activities, financial wellness guidance, workplace culture and flexibility improvements and a healthy work environment.
Health desks
The CDA Consult Executive Director also encouraged corporate leaders to set up a health desk with a trained professional who encourages and coaches workers on healthy habits, identifies risk factors and helps manage stress.
He said the workplace must not be a toxic environment and reiterated the need for employers to incorporate in the corporate holistic healthcare system a strategic and periodic health assessment schedule for workers to ensure that staff are healthy, reduce work-related risks and create a healthy environment for workers.
Mr Ameyibor said studies revealed that the impact of one’s working life has a reflection on health status, especially in retirement, and cautioned both employers and employees to create a safe working environment.
He noted that most workers contract ill health from the place of work.
“Poor working environment, use of obsolete equipment, bad chairs, which lead to poor sitting, and pressure of work are nursing grounds for ill health in retirement.”
Risks at workplace
Mr Ameyibor revealed that most workers are totally ignorant of the risks associated with their work: “Whatever type of work you are engaged in today, there are associated health risks tomorrow.”
He said a recent study has highlighted the significant impact of work life on health status during retirement, stressing that the findings emphasise the importance of prioritising health and well-being while actively working.
He said research has shown that an individual’s work life can have a lasting impact on their health status in retirement, adding that factors such as stress, long working hours and poor work-life balance can contribute to a range of health problems.
Mr Ameyibor, therefore, called on both employers and employees to reduce the incidence of workplace-related health risks and cautioned workers, especially, that “whatever you do today may affect your health when you advance in years.
