Public workers ‘taking greater interest’ in health, wellness

Public officers are becoming more conscious of the need to look after their physical and mental health, a trend the president of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Kimberley Agard, described on Monday as a positive cultural shift in the workplace.

Agard made the remarks to reporters at the union’s Health and Wellness Day, held at NUPW headquarters on Dalkeith Road as part of activities marking Public Workers Week.  

The increasing focus on both physical and mental health among workers reflects a broader shift in attitudes over the last several years, she said.  

“As you know, we are living longer and even though that is the case, we want to live a long and healthy life, not necessarily living longer, but then being unhealthy,” Agard said.  

“So we definitely have seen generally, persons have been paying greater attention to their health in a holistic way. Persons not only rely on science for better health but also the natural remedies that we as Bajans would have come up learning and understanding throughout the years.”  

According to Agard, conversations among workers increasingly show that people are more aware of the need to take care of themselves, particularly when it comes to mental wellbeing.  

“I find even in general conversations that persons are paying attention to their health, and I can say a special emphasis on mental health because as the old adage say, if the head is bad, then the whole body is bad,” she said.  

“So I find that persons are paying attention to their health generally a bit more now.”  

The union leader also pointed to the growing presence of health and safety committees across some workplaces, noting that while progress has been made, there is still room for improvement.  

“With everything, work needs to continue,” she said. “We can say though that some departments have put in place health and safety committees as was mandated. They are in effect and they are working because persons from the committee would also report to the union any issues that they may have within the workplace.”  

Although the number of functioning committees may not yet be as widespread as the union would like, those that are active are playing an important role in monitoring workplace conditions, Agard added. 

“We can say that there are some departments, may not be as many as we would like, but there are some departments who do have health and safety committees functioning and actually doing what they are supposed to do, keeping the vigilance in terms of the workplace conditions.”

The Health and Wellness Day formed part of the NUPW’s annual Public Workers Week celebrations, which recognise the contributions of public officers and union members.  

“Throughout that week, the NUPW takes the time to say thank you to the public workers, to our members, specifically those persons who would have given service, those persons who would have dedicated their time to the union throughout the year and throughout the years.”  

The event featured several organisations offering information and services related to health and wellbeing: the Alzheimer’s Association, the Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority, clients of the Barbados Trust Fund Limited, the Barbados Nurses’ Association, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Emergency Ambulance Service.

(SB)