LAHORE: The University of Health Sciences (UHS) has launched the country’s first ‘Centre for Happiness and Well-being’, which will initiate programmes to define and measure parameters of happiness, monitor trends, investigate social, environmental and biological determinants of health and well-being.
The facility will also provide services to healthcare workers, medical staff and students to fight stress, burnouts and unhealthy lifestyles.
The centre was envisioned by UHS Board of Governors chairman and former chief justice of Pakistan, retired Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani, who inaugurated it at Jinnah Campus, Kala Shah Kaku on Monday. UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Javed Akram, Registrar Dr Asad Zaheer and senior faculty and staff were present on the occasion.
Initially, employees’ well-being is being catered to by the centre through the development of a daycare centre and an art facility to make the campus a friendly and happy place to work in. However, other services such as counselling, volunteering, exercise, nutrition, excursion, meditation, mindfulness, etc will be initiated soon.
Envisioned, inaugurated by ex-CJP Jilani
Psychiatrists, physical trainers, nutritionists, motivational speakers and religious scholars will be part of the regular and visiting faculty of the centre.
Addressing the ceremony, Justice Jilani said that the concept of happiness as a science was translating into new paradigms through development of happiness and well-being centres in academic institutions. The rise of depression and stress, he believed, was the major impetus behind the need for setting up such centres.
“Depression is one of the major causes of disability in the world. Pakistan is ranked 66th in the World Happiness Report out of 158 countries,” he said.
Urging the varsity to start postgraduate programmes in the discipline, Justice Jillani said that through the establishment of this centre, the UHS envisioned to inculcate a culture of individual and organisational well-being that would develop a happier and healthier workforce, which would ultimately translate into happier and healthier society.
UHS VC Prof Akram said that there was growing scientific interest in workplace well-being. “Global research shows office environments that actively promote a state of contentment provide a myriad of benefits for employers and employees alike,” he stated, adding that latest research had indicated that some of the sense of well-being might be in people’s genes, but only partly.
“Happiness is only partially determined by your genes, and the rest comes down to lifestyle and other environmental factors that you can control,” he explained. He further said that the centre was set up to help people understand and pursue the three components of happiness: life satisfaction, feeling engaged in everyday activities, and the feeling of having a purpose in life.
Prof Akram said the centre would promote activities highlighting the importance of maintaining a healthy diet and committing to physical activity in promoting healthy and active lifestyles. The initiative would further host discussions focusing on designing solutions to the challenges facing boosting physical activity and applying the principles of healthy living to society.
“As organisations become more aware of the power of employee well-being, viewing it as an investment, not a cost, things will ultimately improve through increased employee engagement, retention and productivity,” the VC concluded.
Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2020