A helping hand
People and Culture understands the importance of mental health and is calling on all employees who are struggling with psychosocial concerns to seek help.
According to Bonita Maboeta, senior wellness specialist, the university has the NWU Wellness programme in place as part of its commitment to promoting employee health and wellbeing. Under this employee assistance programme staff and their immediate families have access to free telephonic financial and legal advice as well as face-to-face counselling for any psychosocial concern.
FREE
ADVICE
24/7
FEEL-GOOD
FRIDAYS
CONTACT US
HERE
Free advice, 24/7
The service is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Bonita emphasises that all wellness records and services are treated with strictest confidence and the identity of participants is protected by law. Managers who are concerned about the wellbeing of their employees can also contact NWU Wellness for an intervention.
To access the counselling services, call the toll free number 0800 213 149 or email care@carewaysgroup.com, or WhatsApp "hi" to 066 488 2273. You can also make contact with NWU Wellness which can assist and advise you.
Feel-good Fridays
To further lighten the load of NWU employees, People and Culture has initiated the Wellness Fridays webinar series that aims to equip staff with skills to tackle stress and anxiety. The virtual sessions are held every Friday and tackle different topics.
According to employee wellness specialist Genevieve Poodhun, their most popular Friday programmes were about stress management techniques, presented by Werner van der Westhuizen.
Contact us
For more information on the Potchefstroom Campus service contact Bonita Maboeta on 018 285 2133 or 12579513@nwu.ac.za.
For the Mahikeng Campus contact Kehumile Katametsi on 018 389 2336 or kehumile.katametsi@nwu.ac.za, and for the Vanderbjilpark Campus contact Genevieve Poodhun on 016 910 3295 or genevieve.poodhun@nwu.ac.za.
Senior wellness specialist Bonita Maboeta says that, in the beginning, under lockdown levels five and four, the number of staff members using the employee assistance programme decreased; but under levels three and two they saw a dramatic increase in staff using the programme.
“Most people needed psychosocial counselling services for mental health and interpersonal-relationship concerns,” she says.
Click on each circle to read more.
We care about your
The pandemic has affected not only the livelihoods of thousands of South Africans, but also their mental and emotional health.
With all the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19; many are struggling with fear, anxiety, depression, burnout, insomnia and stress.
Mental health influences how a person thinks, feels and behaves, and affects the ability to cope with stress, to overcome challenges, build relationships or recover from life’s setbacks and hardships.