Employee wellbeing has become increasingly important in the organisational strategies of companies across the country, with Standard Bank and PwC standing out for implementing innovative initiatives aimed at guaranteeing the physical, mental and emotional health of their professionals.
During the panel entitled ‘Organisational well-being’, moderated this Friday, April 4, by Khatila Lucas, Business Manager, the Human Resources (HR) professionals recognised that human capital is the main engine of growth and that looking after people is a smart investment for business sustainability.
As an example, Standard Bank created the first national health and wellbeing manager, Iva Nhabanga, at a time when the bank was facing significant internal challenges. Inspired by international models, particularly in South Africa, the initiative seeks to look at the employee holistically, considering the family, social and personal challenges that directly affect performance in the workplace.
According to her, the bank’s well-being programme is based on five fundamental pillars: community, physical and mental health, financial well-being and clinical support. The programme includes health fairs open to employees’ families, blood donation campaigns, financial education sessions, psychological counselling on the bank’s premises and partnerships with gyms. ‘The mind influences every other aspect of existence,’ said Iva, defending the provision of psychological support as an essential tool to combat the stigma surrounding mental health.
The well-being of employees has become increasingly important in the organisational strategies of companies across the country, with Standard Bank and PwC standing out for implementing innovative initiatives aimed at guaranteeing the physical, mental and emotional health of their professionals.
For her part, Soraia Chone, also involved in Human Resources, emphasised that the success of these initiatives depends on a culturally sensitive approach and active listening. ‘It’s not a question of importing models, but of adjusting them to our reality,’ she explained, also sharing the positive experience of introducing psychological support in an organisation she works for, which has resulted in clear improvements in the performance and well-being of employees.
At PwC Mozambique, João Dantas, the organisation’s academy manager, pointed out that concern about mental health gained momentum during the covid-19 pandemic, and the company adopted a series of measures to promote work-life balance. These include hybrid working arrangements, individualised psychotherapeutic support and training in areas such as self-care, sleep quality and financial literacy.
‘PwC sees well-being as an ongoing process, developed by its in-house academy, which works on skills such as emotional resilience, self-knowledge and stress management,’ he said, warning that it is essential to combat the cultural stigma surrounding mental health, especially among men, by creating organisational environments of psychological safety where employees feel free to express emotions and ask for help.
PwC sees well-being as an ongoing process, developed by its in-house academy, which works on skills such as emotional resilience, self-awareness and stress management
‘The role of leadership is decisive. Managers must set an example, show vulnerability and get close to their teams,’ said Dantas, adding that cases of burnout (an emotional disorder characterised by physical and mental exhaustion) are not solved by one-off training sessions, but rather with ongoing psychological counselling and support structures inside and outside the organisation.
Both companies have also invested in internal awareness campaigns, adjusted to the reality of their professionals, as a way of transforming the organisational culture and strengthening teams. Initiatives such as the People Challenge, which involve employees and families, show that the impact of well-being goes beyond the office and contributes to a healthier, more empathetic and productive working environment.
The People Management Forum (now in its second day) is an annual conference that brings together local and international professionals. This event was created by ATITTUDE – a company specialising in Human Resources solutions that has been operating in Mozambique since 2018, and will expand to Angola and Cape Verde in 2021.
Text: Nário Sixpene
