WISYNCO Group Limited, a leading manufacturer and distributor in St Catherine, Jamaica, has taken bold steps to engender increased awareness of health, safety and well-being among its employees.

The entity recently opened the doors of a spacious, state-of-the-art fitness centre on the grounds of its head office in Lakes Pen, St Catherine. The facility, which currently offers standard gym equipment, group exercise sessions and on-site gym instructor to all employees, is open on weekdays from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm, and on Saturdays from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

The opening of the gym was one of the major highlights of the company's second staging of its Health, Safety and Well-being Month, which is geared towards educating and engaging employees on matters such as safety at work, safety on the road, and wellness initiatives that boost health and safety.

In 2022, August was declared Health, Safety and Well-being Month against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic (which challenged the resilience and mental health of people worldwide) and a desire to continue safety education among employees at Wisynco.

During the month a number of activities are executed by a multidisciplinary team led by the human resources (HR) and health, safety and environment (HSE) departments.

According to Group Head of Human Resources Kisha-Ann Brown, the activities this year included financial wellness sessions, a Flash Fitness Invasion, Drift Dancing Challenge, Biggest Loser Weight Loss Challenge, the launch of Sagicor Day, numerous safety challenges, and visits of the Guardian Group Mobile Medical Unit to the company's Lakes Pen, White Marl, and Trelawny offices.

"These activities were geared towards empowering, engaging and educating employees about wellness in every sense of the word. At Wisynco we hold dear the holistic well-being and safety of all our employees. As a people-centred organisation whose mantra is to 'Improve the lives of our people', we know all too well that a healthier and safer workforce always equates to greater productivity and employee satisfaction."

The company culminated its month of activities on August 30th with its annual Health, Safety and Well-being Fair, which catered to more than 900 staff members.

Hundreds of staff members from various departments and locations turned up at the Lakes Pen Corporate Office to take advantage of the host of free medical examinations, safety demonstrations, and presentations that were available.

The health fair provided useful information about safety in manufacturing, safety in warehousing, safety in the offices and safety on the road.

Entities at the fair included Jamaica Cancer Society, Sagicor Group, Road Safety Unit, National Health Fund, Insight Optical, and National Council on Drug Abuse.

There was also a nurse's station that conducted free medical tests, three virtual reality tents, two snack bars, a games and activity tent, and an ambulance on standby.

By all indications, the staging of the Health, Safety and Well-being Fair was a huge success and the organisers are elated that the month of activities was well received by employees.

According to CEO Andrew Mahfood, the promotion of health and safety has always been top of the agenda at Wisynco.

He says, "In addition to our annual Health, Safety & Well-being Month initiatives, we are always working to spread awareness and participation in healthy lifestyle practices. We have a football field and netball/basketball court that have been keeping our employees active on a weekly basis, and with the gym opening we expect an even healthier population. Being the true innovators that we are we will continue to invest in our Wisynco family through education, infrastructure and engagement — thus further fostering the well-being of our staff in mind, body and soul."