Tenth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Employee perceptions of Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) are pivotal for researchers to ascertain the degree of employee satisfaction and as a quality indicator of such an initiative within an organisation. Employees experience WHP as a demand by the employer rather than a beneficial resource to the employee, as well as distrust in the confidentiality of such programmes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of WHP on the perceptions of clothing and textiles workers in Cape Town. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches was followed. Quantitative data were collected from 121 clothing and textiles employees through a survey questionnaire. The qualitative data were collected via interviews amongst managers, clinical staff and WHP program promotors. More than 80% of respondents enjoy participating in WHP, however the respondents were relatively unsure whether WHP has caused an improvement in social effects, such as organizational dynamics. A success factor noted during this investigation is that the WHP interventions forms part of a collective bargaining agreement and thus all relevant stakeholders are actively involved in ensuring the implementation of WHP.