An exploration into the implementation and management of employee wellness in the Namibian public service: A case study of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism
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Date
2018
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Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
This study investigated the extent to which employee wellness is implemented in the Namibian public service in general, and based its findings on a case study of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET). The study seek to answer five particular questions; to what extent employee wellness is supported by the organisation, what employee wellness activities are in place at the MET, the level of interest employees have towards wellness activities, how employees rate the effectiveness of the employee wellness programme at the MET, and how the Ministry evaluates its employee wellness programme. A Case Study research was applied, and a Qualitative research method was used to carry out the study. This was considered the best choice for the study as the intention of the study was exploratory as it sought to gain an understanding of how the activities under the employee wellness programme was implemented and evaluated, as well as their outcome’s perception amongst the staff.
The results of this study indicated that organisational support for employee wellness is minimal, taking into account the very low management involvement in decision making around employee wellness and the underutilisation of funds for wellness activities in the Ministry. The activities in place under the Ministerial wellness programme are more physical wellness based and nothing covers for financial wellness. The study also revealed that there is a lack of support for employee wellness at senior and management level despite the overwhelming interest by general employees. Finally, the wellness programme was rated as mostly ineffective based on the evaluation that was done. It found that a uniform employee wellness programme is needed in the Namibian public service.
Description
A research thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Public Administration
Keywords
Employee wellness