Wellness at Workplace
You may or may not love your work. But when asked to specify, you’ll talk less about the work you do, and instead give more details about your environment, the people around you, etc. Hence it shows that even though you don’t like your job, the environment can play a huge role in your attitude towards the job. Therefore, having a comfortable and enriching workplace is very essential to ensure proper mental health.
What is Mental Health?
WHO defines Mental Health as “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, copes with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”
In simpler ways it would mean understanding one’s own abilities .Using them in some productive work which proves to be beneficial for both the individual and the organization he/she works in. And through it make a significant contribution to his or her community or society. And in this process, should be able to deal effectively with the normal stress and storms of life.
What is the significance of mental health at workplace?
How much an employee enjoys working, with what attitude they view their work, or how much importance they give to their job has a great deal of influence on the employee’s dedication and justice to the work and this in turn, affects the organization’s development.
Mental Health of the employees affects both the organization and the individuals alike.
Poor mental health of the employees can result in problems like:
- Decreased productivity
- Increased absenteeism
- Poor team performance
- Low Job Satisfaction
- Less motivation
- Less turnover
The mental health of an employee is affected due to:
- Poor relationship between workers
- Ineffective leadership
- Unfavorable deadlines
- Sexual or mental abuse
- Discrimination
- No or negligible support or encouragement
- Heavy workload
and many other reasons.
This results to problems such as:
- Stress
- Depression
- Anxiety
And many more
How can you ensure your well-being at your workplace?
You can start with cleaning up your space. A scattered, shabby workplace will never bring along good thoughts. Take your time; organize your space in such a way that next time you won’t have to throw down the whole deck for a single sheet. Decorate or organize your place with happy or motivational quotes that’ll make you happy or boost you when you’re down.
Prioritize your work. It is really important that you note down any work you get and sort it according to its urgency or importance. A delayed work or a last minute work can lead to unnecessary stress and anxiety.
Be open to new ideas. Accepting any new idea or opinion would be hard for someone who prefers a same set of thoughts or work pattern. To deal with the team dynamics, it is essential to be open and understanding to the new, different ideologies resulting in less unsettlement for oneself.
Voice it out. Every workplace has its own union or someone who’s there to listen to the grievances of the employees. Approach them and voice out your opinions or problems. The silent you are, the worse situations get. Make a record of your complaints and use it as the medium to make sure the organization is working on it. Every employee has the right to a sustainable, healthy work atmosphere. Make sure you get yours too.
Maintain a proper diet and workout routine. With binge eating junk foods in the work place to spending hours in a stretch on the chair in front of a computer has given rise to a huge range of health risks. Proper nutritious meals and exercises that are ignored in this day to day life need to be followed thoroughly. Don’t skip your food or eat late. Take staircase instead of elevator or 15 min walk after lunch or dinner count as physical activity too.
Learn to differentiate between workplace and home. Let work be limited to your office and family be limited to your home. Unnecessary overburdening of problems takes place when you mix the two. Assort them different times and deal with them accordingly.
Take a chill pill. Take a voluntary vacation and enjoy yourself. Do what you love the most and forget about your work for that time. It’s necessary to break off and relax yourself. Even overused machines need rest. And after all, we’re still humans.
Look after yourself. No matter where you are it is always helpful to work on taking care of yourself and staying well. If you are feeling down, sad, stressed, or are finding it hard to cope, it is important to speak to someone about this. Your GP or an Employee Assistance Program (if your workplace has one) counsellor is a good place to start.
Find your stress buster. Set time limits on your efforts two hours maximum and then stop for a 15 minute treat doing something you love, something that you can lose yourself in for a little while to forget about reality and your worries.
- Take 30 seconds to focus on slow deep breaths before starting a new task.Taking focused, deeper breaths in and out has a tendency to straighten your posture as well.
- Whatever posture your body is holding throughout the day, counteract it with some gentle, sustained stretches.
- At least once a day, rain or shine, try to get outside for a few minutes. Getting out of the florescent lights and into some fresh air can be a great way to hit the restart button.
- When multitasking or focusing on a project, turn off as many notifications as you can get away with.
- You can also listen to music, read a novel (not a work-related book), watch a short comedy film, or spend time on your favorite hobby.
Written by Chaitali Rai
