Workplace wellness : yoga as a positive psychology intervention for employees in a South African higher education institution

Abstract

Workplace well-being offers important organisational benefits in the modern-day climate of increasing stress and its detrimental impact on mental and physical health. Employees in the Higher Educational context are experiencing increasing workplace pressures stemming from the continuously changing teaching landscape and the growing importance placed on the role of higher education in societal upliftment. Existing literature highlights a predominant reactive approach to employee wellness in the South African context. Proactive approaches that enhance well-being from a strengths-based perspective are advocated as more favourable alternatives. These are inherently more inclusive and counter the stigma commonly associated with reactive strategies. This study set out to explore and describe the effectiveness and feasibility of using a yoga-based Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI) to promote employee well-being at a local Higher Education Institution (HEI) as a holistic approach to workplace wellness. Informed by the positive psychology paradigm, a repeated measures quasi-experimental, equal status, concurrent mixed method design was employed, using a purposive sample as the most suitable approach to address the study’s aim. Research objectives entailed designing and implementing a 36-week yoga-based PPI and exploring its effectiveness and feasibility as a long-term employee wellness strategy in the target context. Quantitative results indicated that the yoga-based PPI has promise to promote emotional well-being, as well as energy levels and mental resilience while working, and minimise the experiences of negative emotions and perceived stress. Qualitative findings demonstrated that this type of wellness initiative is a suitable and welcomed strategy to promote holistic employee wellness in response to workplace stress. It offers a range of functional tools that aid physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of well-being, and the programme structure guides and supports personal growth and transformation. However, attendance and adherence statistics highlighted the need to emphasise efforts for programme uptake and commitment. Overall, the outcomes support that this PPI can be recommended as a holistic strengths-based strategy to promote well-being amongst employees working at the selected HEI. However, it is important to indicate that programme feasibility rests on strong organisational support and employee commitment. Additional research is needed to offer further support for policy recommendations.