The City of Cape Town recently launched a new wellness programme model. This Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) hybrid model will now provide a 24/7 multilingual personal support line to all permanent employees and immediate family within their household.
The impact which the Covid-19 pandemic has had on residents both at the place of work and home is undeniable. The pandemic has highlighted the level of personal problems community members face right across the City and the need for additional personal support among the workforce has become very evident.
The City has partnered with ICAS, an employee support services provider to expand its EAP offering to staff members and to extend the services to their immediate family members. This way, the City aims to support the current way of working where many staff members are working remotely from home.
The new EAP hybrid model will offer call centre assistance; one-on-one counselling; trauma services and life management services, which include financial and legal assistance on a 24/7 basis, 365 days a year at no cost. The internal EAP and Wellness Branch will continue to provide counselling and support to all EPWP workers and will focus on developmental; proactive; preventative and lifestyle management services for all City employees.
‘We are very excited to be able to extend a wider range of support services to all our permanent staff and EPWP workers. Employees and their immediate family within their households will now have access to qualified psychologists and counsellors whenever they are in need.
‘This is the type of practical support we need in order to deal with the additional burdens and pressures that society is currently having to face. If our staff and their families are strong and healthy, the City of Cape Town will continue to thrive, rather than just survive these challenging times,’ said the Mayoral Committee member for Corporate Services, Councillor Sharon Cottle