Healing notes: singing for well-being in an African bank
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Van As, Alta
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Abstract
In 2005, Dr Steve Booysen - then Group Chief Executive of the Absa Group - initiated
an internal choir festival as a platform for social interaction and teambuilding of staff
across all cultures, age groups and post levels in the bank. Towards the end of 2005,
based on the widely held perception that the effects of the project had exceeded all
expectations, it was decided to repeat the initiative, which has since become an annual
event. To date, Absa has invested, and continues to invest, millions of rands in their choir
project - confirmation that choir participation offers valuable benefits to the ordinary
employee. This paper uses data from an investigation into the ‘extra-musical benefits of
this project to reflect on the value of the 2005-2008 Absa choir project for building social
capital and strengthening individuals’ sense of coherence (SOC) through singing together.
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Van As, A. 2014. Healing notes: singing for well-being in an African bank. TD: The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 10(2):221-235, Nov. [http://dspace.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/3605]