We have started out last week with a discussion on employee wellness, and will cover employee-related issues throughout this month in solidarity with global employee health and fitness month. Around the globe, workplaces are doing increasingly more to prevent, arrest, and even reverse chronic diseases. Kudos to those workplaces in Namibia that have well established workplace wellness programs; you certainly value the fact that healthier employees are almost three times more productive. But who is ultimately responsible for the health and wellness of employees? My heading is a proverb that offers great advice, but do you follow it?

Although wellness programs at work are more popular than ever, each individual remains the custodian of his or her own health and wellbeing. You cannot claim your poor health on the account of your wellness officer. In the same vein, you should not give all the credit for your good health to that officer either. Total health and wellness is in the long run a balancing act of emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental health, where the main responsibility begins with the individual him or herself. We all know the popular saying: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink”. Workplace programs are merely a way to assist the individual in meeting his or her own individual health and wellness goals. By that I don’t underrate workplace programmes; on the contrary, the core of every effective workplace wellness program is behavior change. That in itself will ultimately lead to greater productivity, reductions in work related ill health and injuries, a decrease in absenteeism and staff turnover, improving employee relations and a healthier work environment. But only if the anticipated change happens within the individual these programmes are aimed at. To stay as healthy as you can, YOU, the employee, must be an active participant in your own healthcare. Your workplace program may be the best in town, but if you devalue the importance of behaviour chance, you may be heading for trouble. Team work makes the dream work, they say. So, while workplace programs may help to instill healthy habits in their employees, it is the employee who needs to engage the habits and activities that will arrest disease in their bodies. 

So, when was the last time you have listened to those friendly whispers that ever so desperately try to get your attention? Or is there currently a loud and desperate roar emanating from within? You may get away for some time by not listening to the whispers, maybe even a long time. In fact, you may get so use to them that you may not even hear them anymore. Until one day, all you will hear is that loud scream! And then it may be too late…! Your body knows what it needs, and it does communicate that need to you. This profound quote by Dan Millman underscores it: “Everything you need to know is within you. Listen. Feel. Trust the body’s wisdom.”

Silent whispers from our body may include aches and pains, emotions, gut feelings, and may manifest in the following thoughts:
Your drinking habits are getting out of hand
Stop smoking, your breathing is suffering
Get more physical
Your emotional instability may be a sign of depression
It’s time for your annual pap smear, breast examination or prostate check
That vaginal or penal discharge spells trouble have it checked.

Remember, illness and disease do not discriminate. Start paying attention to your body’s unique wisdom. It is the only place you have to live, so take excellent care of it.

* Karin Husselmann writes on public health and lifestyle issues and is committed to helping people to reach their full potential by enhancing their well-being and offering support with smoking cessation.
Email: karileo.kh@gmail.com