Corporate Wellness Programs in South Africa : Contexualising Pitfalls Rendering Businesses From Achieving a Culture of Wellness

Abstract

Employee wellness programs are an essential tool in the Human Resources toolkit. Even though research has provided evidence of the effectiveness of an employee wellness program within an organisation, the sustainable implementation thereof has remained sporadic in developing countries like South Africa. This qualitative study has explored perceptions around employee wellness as held by management level staff in the hospitality, media and health industries. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis and analysed using thematic analysis (TA). The results of the study has shown that managers understand the potential role that employee wellness programs can play, but that there are too many barriers to overcome in implementing a sustainable program. Questions such as ‘How do I offer something for everyone?’ and ‘What if employees do not want to participate?’ remain unanswered. Recommendations made as consequence include the development of a typology of employee wellness programs in developing countries; support to organisations in implementing an employee wellness program; and, integrating employee wellness into the daily operations of an organisation.