24-7 Intouch Launches Wellness Programme

Global customer care and technology company, 24-7 Intouch, has collaborated with the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) to implement a corporate wellness programme for members of staff.

The launch took place on Wednesday (July 3), at the entity’s Freeport location in Montego Bay.

The initiative is designed to educate and empower employees to make smarter wellness choices that can ultimately improve productivity in the workplace.

Focus is placed on healthy consumption habits, physical activity, and regular health checks.

In an interview with JIS News, Regional Health Promotion Officer at the WRHA, Marcelene Wheatle, lauded 24-7 Intouch for “championing the health” of its over 300 employees.

She said that the programme is in keeping with the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ thrust to promote health in the workplace under the Jamaica Moves campaign.

The objective is to minimise downtime, increase productivity and promote a healthy work environment.

Ms. Wheatle said that under the partnership, the WRHA is providing technical support in the execution of the initiative.

“From the get-go, we would have provided all the technical guidance as to how to design their corporate wellness programme. We are continuing… where we are doing screening, because part of our mandate under the Jamaica Moves campaign is appropriate health screening,” Mrs. Wheatle said.

“Also, in terms of education, we have one-on-one conversations about the different health checks… because part of our thrust also is for individuals to fully understand their (health) numbers in terms of their readings,” she added.

She said with data showing that a large portion of the Jamaican population is inactive “the take-home message that we are pushing for our workplaces and any other wellness initiative is to start getting physically active”.

For her part, Human Resource Manager at 24-7 Intouch, Ann-Marie Green, told JIS News that the company is aiming to foster a culture of health and wellness among staff.

“We have realised that as a company, we have a few health concerns. We have seen an increase in [staff members] calling in sick, and we also understand that physical activity helps with productivity. So, with that in mind, we decided that a partnership with the Ministry of Health and Wellness would be an awesome way to introduce healthy lifestyle [practices] and build a healthy workforce,” she said.

Ms Green noted that the programme will incorporate a number of activities that will run for the next 90 days.

“We have divided our company into teams… . We will have a no sugar day, no sugar week and water drinking competition,” she informed.

“Five minutes per day, for three days per week… we are having activities at their work stations,” she added.