Customs keeps focus on holistic wellness of staff

The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) has been continuing a series of initiatives, introduced through its Human Resource Management and Development Division, in an effort to ensure the optimal holistic well-being of its staff.

Among these initiatives is a full month of wellness activities that focuses on all eight dimensions of wellness, celebrated in October of each year. The genesis of Month of Wellness was in October of 2018, following the first staging of the now annual Wellness Exposition which was held in December 2017 and was also coupled with the launch of the agency’s Health and Well-being Policy.

Sean Davis, senior human resource officer for employee relations at the JCA, highlighted the reasons the agency decided to adopt this focus.

“On observation of the emergence of various health concerns in the society … the deeper appreciation of the need to provide a holistic workplace employee experience which features the provision of information and services that can aid in fostering healthier lifestyle choices among team members, and in keeping with the public education thrust of the Ministry of Health and Wellness regarding non-communicable diseases, it was determined that we develop an integrated health and well-being programme to engender an organisational culture that fosters a health-conscious and healthy workforce,” he said.

Month of Wellness activities

He also shared that, within the Month of Wellness, various activities are undertaken to include:

• Staff-exclusive Wellness Expo where private and public sector exhibitors are invited to share their products and services with staff members.

• Wellness Chats with health and well-being practitioners addressing topics selected based on the theme for the particular year.

• Blood Drive where the agency partners with the National Blood Transfusion Service (Blood Bank) to have staff donate blood.

• Tree planting at selected schools.

• Social Wellness Activities including Comedy Hour.

• Observation of United Nations’ designated days for health-related matters such as World Mental Health Day.

• Spiritual Wellness Fest which is an evening of praise and worship.

Igol Allen, blood donor organiser at the National Blood Transfusion Service, shared that having partnered with the JCA since 2021 through regular blood drives, it has allowed the Bank to “meet the demand for blood and its by-products”.

Allen further added that “Jamaica needs two cent of the population to donate once per year. Currently only about one per cent are able to. The partnership allows us to save lives right across Jamaica.”

With the great impact one donation makes, being able to save up to three lives, Allen concluded by thanking “the Jamaica Customs for continuing this partnership for life”.

Aside from the Month of Wellness activities, the agency has implemented other initiatives that remain constant throughout the year, such as the Customs Moves physical exercise (in support of the Jamaica Moves thrust), Peer Support Network, Time to Talk and JCA Educates sessions and Customs Leads programme, among others.

In introducing these initiatives, the agency sought for them to not only be of benefit to staff, but, by extension, all stakeholders through excellent service delivery.