As the awareness about women’s wellness increases in organisations, leaders need to take action toward changing the unique challenges that women go through in workplaces, HR Indaba audiences heard today.
Women’s wellness has been one of the trendy topics in the workplace, yet most organisations do not know how to manage certain issues relating to their female workers. This was the topic under discussion at an HR Indaba session today.
According to Dr Samke Ngcobo, author and mental health activist, “The role of female leadership is not homogenous. We have to realise that women come from different backgrounds and thus face other challenges.”
Eswhin Booysen, CHRO at In2food added, “Women need to coach the men, and leaders must understand the societal challenges their colleagues face.” This call for cooperation embraced the fact that leaders must be in a position to interface with all employees so that mutual support and understanding can be fostered.
The discussion also extended to the physical and mental issues that many women have to endure. Lungile Mahluza, CPO at Deloitte Africa, said: “Many women are in pain, either at each month’s time or during menopause. One of my colleagues was embarrassed to take leave due to debilitating periods and would often work through her pain.”
Furthermore, according to Lungile, “We need to go beyond just talking about wellbeing to actually engaging with employees regarding their mental health struggles.”
Another important message was about the influence of leadership in shaping the workplace culture. As Eswhin underlined, “Leaders disproportionately influence workplace culture.” If leaders make wellness and inclusivity their priorities, the overall health of the teams will be positively influenced, which in turn opens up ways toward a much healthier working environment.
Samke noted: “We need to consider structural changes that elevate the experiences of women and ensure that women have the resources they need,” emphasising the policy-level changes that may be required in organisations to directly support the wellbeing of women at work, such as flexible work conditions and access to health services.
Lungile also contributed that technology affects mental health: “The constant switching between tasks and the administrative burden can add to cognitive overload,” she said, noting that as organisations work within new virtual and hybrid environments, attention must be given to how changes in work might impact mental health.
A key message conveyed by the panellists was that fostering women’s wellness in the workplace is everyone’s job – from leaders to employees. In essence, truly listening to women, having policies that support them, and building a culture of understanding will go a long way in enabling organisations to take giant leaps toward wellness across all dimensions.
