Employee Wellness in South Africa During and Post the COVID Pandemic

Employee wellness is in greater need than ever in the world of work today. This is particularly the case post-COVID-19 pandemic—as most employees are still trying to recover from the loss of their loved ones. Furthermore, many employees are still struggling to cope with the turmoil and high level of stress, which the pandemic unleashed during the period in which they have had to work from home. While the COVID-19 pandemic may have dwindled, there is a need for more critical studies on how employee wellness can be effectively managed in the event of future situations like the pandemic. Hence, this chapter therefore syntheses literature on employee wellness during and post-COVID-19 era in South Africa—using the lenses of Job Demand-Resources (JD-R) and Conservation of Resources (COR) as theoretical frameworks. The findings reveal that South Africa's health and safety legislation needs to address remote workers’ job autonomy, need of meaningful work, work–life balance, conducive work conditions, better remuneration, effective workplace communication and collaboration, and organisational support systems that are customised to individuals’ need among others, which are considered key to wellbeing and wellness in work settings. The scholarly implication here is the need for more critical studies on policies and practices that constitute or undermine wellness, while the practical implication is for managers to reconsider how their, practices, polices, and work relationship with employees implicate wellness at work.