Establishing health and wellness culture: A South African company perspective

Introduction
The South African construction industry is characterized by an employee demographic profile of low socioeconomic and literacy status, high mobility, circular migration, predominantly male gender, and a high proportion of non-permanent employment and medically uninsured individuals. This physically and psychologically demanding environment exposes construction workers to a range of hazards resulting in injuries and illnesses. Thus, there are inherent health and wellness risks that need to be defined and appropriately addressed. 

Methods
A situational analysis into the current provisions for Health and Wellness initiatives in a large South African construction company was conducted through desk top analyses, walk through surveys and interviews with key stakeholders. The objective was to use this information to develop a Health and Wellness strategic framework and plan of action.

Results
The exercise illustrated that Health and Wellness is a known concept but strategy, policies and a consistent approach to implementation are lacking. The current culture favors safety initiatives; there is a paucity of occupational health and wellness initiatives and data. Furthermore, there is no clear accountability for measuring, monitoring and evaluating key indicators. Health and Wellness behaviors and practices that are known to enhance employee morale and wellbeing are not consistently demonstrated.

Discussion
A key recommendation is that the company should develop and implement a Health and Wellness strategic framework supported by structures and systems that deliver on agreed indicators. Clear roles and responsibilities are vital, as is top leadership endorsing and recognizing Health and Wellness as core enablers for safety and productivity at the workplace. Areas identified for strategic planning are: 
• Occupational health management that considers reasonable and practicable steps to manage risk 
• Management of HIV/AIDS and TB initiatives for individuals both infected and affected 
• Initiatives, such as employee assistance programmes, to manage employees’ health and wellness needs in a holistic manner