Four out of five employees worldwide are not flourishing at work, according to a survey of over 14,000 people from 37 countries by Great Place to Work® and Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. This fact bolsters the need for employers to create an enabling work environment for their employees to thrive and be productive. Conversations on #TerribleBosses and workplaces have seen a rapid global shift in organizational work cultures and policies. Organizations are evolving from embracing new policies like remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic to adopting a more inclusive workforce.
This year, eHealth Africa (eHA) got certified as one of Nigeria’s best places to work. eHA employees ranked the organization high on employee conditions, workplace culture, and policies recognizing the organization as one of the rewarding places to work where people can unlock their potential in a diverse and inclusive workplace.
The certification is no surprise because of the policies eHA has in place to create an enabling environment for its employees. According to eHA’s Chief Financial Officer and Senior Director of Administration, Zahir Baloum, the eHA management team has prioritized
employee satisfaction and growth for the past four years. We believe this significantly impacts employee attitudes about their jobs, coworkers, and organization, enhancing productivity and mental health.
What do our employees think about the work culture at eHA?
According to a business day article published in July 2022 on Mental Health and Employees’ Productivity in Today’s Workplace, A happy and healthy workforce will produce vibrant, and enthusiastic employees focused on delivering beyond business goals and expectations. When asked how she feels about eHA’s work culture, Fatima Mohammed, a project coordinator, said that The eHA work environment has been friendly, and the organization has prioritized the work-life balance policy. It ensures that staff appropriately utilize their leave days and introduces activities that provide good work-life balance practices.
Fatima started her career at eHA as a phone logistician for the Vaccination Tracking Project over seven years ago and has since grown to the position of project coordinator, a testament to the growth opportunities within the organization. She says that the newly adopted people-focused culture has allowed for employee cohesion. They feel more comfortable and valued because the organization carries them along, is ready to listen to their voices, and uses that to gauge and improve. There’s no doubt that employees feel happier and are more productive when their voices are heard. I appreciate the organization for employing this approach to creating a healthy work environment.
For Juliana Jacob, a Senior Knowledge Management Associate at eHealth Africa, the work culture at eHA encourages teamwork and innovation, creating a healthy work-life balance. It promotes continuous learning and development as well as career growth. Juliana started her career at eHA as an intern with the Helpdesk team and has since transitioned to her current role.
Living the eHA values
Aligning an individual’s role with the organization’s mission can foster a higher sense of purpose or fulfillment. That is why it is no surprise that eHealth Africa tries to foster an environment where its employees can lead to its core values of integrity, impact, quality, problem-solving, and innovation. In ensuring that the organization's influence is felt in its immediate environment, eHA embarks on community development initiatives with its staff on a mission to ensure that people in underserved communities can lead healthier lives. Early this year, one of the community development initiatives embarked on was the renovation of 22 boreholes across 10 LGAs in Kano, Borno, and the FCT.
Another initiative within the organization that strives to create a healthier work environment at eHealth Africa is the Culture Club. According to Mohammed Bello, a project manager within the organization and the Culture Club head, eHA created the club to provide a more definitive and strategic pathway for culture stewardship and collaboration within the organization. It has been used as a mechanism to support the achievement of the organization’s result framework of ‘making eHA the best place to work through several Employee engagement activities such as Employee recognition, where eHA reward and recognizes the best employee of the month. The culture club organizes activities within the organization from time to time. One of those activities was the planting of 500 trees planted in Kano and Abuja during the 2022 Earth Day celebration.
Undoubtedly, eHealth Africa is committed to building a healthy work environment for its employees through its policies, initiatives, and commitment to building the capacity of its staff as well as the communities impacted by its work across Africa.