From Employee Wellness Support to Performance Improvement in a Public Construction Unit in The Eastern Cape, South Africa

This study examines how employee wellness support contributes to performance improvement in a public construction unit in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study was motivated by concerns about absenteeism, workplace stress, occupational injuries and declining productivity in the In-House Construction Unit in Graaff-Reinet. A pragmatic mixed-methods design was adopted, combining a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test quantitative component involving 36 employees with semi-structured qualitative interviews involving four key stakeholders. The quantitative component comprised an experimental group of 20 employees exposed to the EHWP and a control group of 16 employees who were unexposed during the study period. The findings indicate that EHWP participation was associated with improvements in physical and mental health, work engagement, job satisfaction, workplace safety, absenteeism and task completion. However, programme effectiveness was constrained by low uptake, mental-health stigma, limited supervisory capability, scheduling barriers for shift workers and unclear referral procedures. The study concludes that employee wellness support can contribute meaningfully to organisational performance when programmes are accessible, adequately resourced, trusted by employees and supported by trained supervisors. It recommends flexible scheduling, supervisor training, anti-stigma interventions and clearer referral protocols to strengthen EHWP implementation in public-sector operational environments. The study contributes to public administration scholarship by positioning employee wellness as a performance, governance and service delivery concern rather than a peripheral human resource function.