On November 09th, APHRC received the SME Global Healthy Workplaces Award during the 10th Global Healthy Workplace Summit. The Center is the first African winner in any category during the ten years of the prestigious Award program. Tommy Hutchinson, co-director of the awards host organization, said, “the success of APHRC shows the growing recognition in all parts of the world of the importance employee wellbeing plays in determining business performance.”
The Global Centre for Healthy Workplaces (GCHW) Awards support the advancement of workplace health and well-being through a series of initiatives designed to enhance shared learning, recognition and replication. Key is the recognition of efforts to create a healthier and more productive working experience. The focus of the 2022 was on the initiatives that employers are putting in place for building internal consensus when addressing the most pressing workplace problems, especially in the domain of mental health.
At APHRC, we are dedicated to fostering a Healthy Workplace for our employees, and we have put in place several initiatives that seek to protect and promote the health, safety and well-being of our people, and the sustainability of the workplace.
The APHRC wellness program started about 15 years ago on the backdrop of a vibrant health and safety policy. APHRC adopted the WHO Healthy Workplace Framework and Model as a beacon to guide us through our Healthy Workplace journey in promoting a culture of holistic health and wellness at the workplace. Since its inception here, workplace wellness has celebrated many successes. Evaluations have showed a remarkable upsurge in the awareness and participation in Healthy Workplace wellness events, activities and programming. At the same time, ongoing employee feedback, as well as emerging research, pointed to the need for still more focus on Healthy Workplace programs.
As a result, APHRC’s Health and Safety Committee will be developing and launching a five-year Healthy Workplace – Healthy Workers Strategic Plan to document our holistic approach to supporting and improving the health and well-being of the employees and subsequently the productivity of the organization.
We do however recognize that this is just but the start of an exciting journey and there is a lot to do and learn too. The lessons gained over the years have provided opportunities to re-imagine a better future. A future where we develop a healthy and safe workplace.