Self-care may not be a top priority for everyone, but it is a must if you want to be happier, more productive, and more successful at work.
Self-care is often not a top priority in a world that demands constant attention. Although it can be difficult to step away from the computer for some much-needed R&R, self-care is critical for increased productivity, workplace happiness, personal and professional success, and personal and professional satisfaction.
It’s important to look at your workplace and your employees to see if there are any small problems that are slowing you down. Business owners and employees both plan and execute strategies to improve their work environment. You can also use the same approach to boost your self-care and personal well-being. This will be beneficial to you, your employees, and the company in general.
What is self-care?
You may immediately think of meditation and spa days when you hear the word “self-care”. Self-care can be as simple as these two examples, but it is much more. Self-care refers to doing something that supports one’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Self-care at work is taking actions that support your well-being so you can be productive and engaged in your job.
You might want to read a book at night if you are having a difficult day at work. Self-care may involve taking a walk outside during the day if you work all day. If you’re overworked, self-care may even entail choosing not to assist someone else with a project. Every workplace has its own stressors and needs. Effective self-care may differ for each individual.
How important is self-care for workplace productivity?
Self-care is a way to improve your mental, physical, and emotional health. This combination is crucial for staying productive over long periods of time. Stress.org estimates that stress is a major workplace hazard and costs companies more than $300 billion annually. Stress can have a significant impact on productivity and well-being if it is not managed.
Stress can cause physical problems such as high blood pressure and headaches. These health issues may be minor distractions or severe enough to make employees miss work and reduce productivity. Employees can stay healthy and alert by practising self-care techniques such as regular wellness screenings, proper sleep, and relaxation.
Stressors at work can lead to mental and emotional health issues, including anxiety, depression, and burnout. This can often result in lower productivity. Employees and business leaders can use mental and emotional self-care methods to address these issues before they have an impact on the financial health of your company.
What are the best ways to practise self-care at work?
Self-care is about taking care of your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. You must address each of these areas if you want to improve your self-care at work.
Self-care for the body
You can assess what is happening in your workplace and make changes to improve your health. Self-care could include taking a walk, going outside, or purchasing things that will improve your workplace (e.g., a standing desk, ergonomic chairs, plants). You don’t want to be on your feet all day, so get the shoes you love or ask your boss for a break.
Your overall well-being can also depend on the lighting in your workplace. This should be part of your self-care. Research has shown that light can have a significant impact on productivity, mood, energy, alertness, and creativity in the office. The best light booster is natural light, morning and evening. Research has shown that blue-enriched light bulbs can actually increase work performance. They support mental acuity, vitality, alertness, and fatigue reduction.
Self-care for the emotions
While you may be a leader or employee, you are still a human being first and foremost. Humans have emotions. Although you can suppress your emotions at work, they will eventually come out. Assess your emotional state regularly and how work is affecting it.
Consider how your coworkers and employees affect you. Self-care can include setting healthy boundaries or working remotely if you are constantly being pestered by a toxic coworker. You can also do journaling, therapy, and meditation as emotional self-care.
You should also consider how your workload affects you. Are you feeling burned out or overworked? Self-care may be as simple as saying no to colleagues who ask you to take on more responsibility if your workload is becoming too heavy.
Mental self-care
Assessing your mental health is an important part of assessing your emotional and physical well-being. It’s no longer an honor to burn the candle at both ends. You don’t have to do it all the time.
If your employer offers this employee benefit, it is a great example of self-care for mental health. Mental health self-care strategies include reading, listening to podcasts, and taking breaks during the workday.
What self-care tips can business leaders use?
Business leaders are especially responsible for self-care as they set the tone and culture for the rest. These are some key principles that business leaders and managers need to remember when they manage self-care for their employees and themselves.
- Your own self-care is the first step. Leaders influence the behavior of those they lead. If you don’t take care of yourself, it will be difficult to teach others about self-care.
- Talk about it with your team. It is harmful to your goals to treat high levels of stress as a normal part of business. It is preferable to openly discuss stress in the workplace and to adopt a strategy that involves team members working together to find solutions.
- Increase autonomy. High-stress jobs that have strict deadlines and high expectations can lead to stress in employees. This is especially true if they don’t have control over how they are expected to complete their tasks and projects. If possible, adjust to encourage more autonomy for each individual and a team-based approach.
- Reward the best efforts. Endless work without reward can lead to employee burnout and poor health. Leaders and employees need to agree on professional development and promotion paths. A consistent and unambiguous reward system can support these efforts.
- Increase social support. Social support can be defined as proactive communication, care, and understanding. It is essential both inside and outside the workplace. Encourage employees to make time for family and friends, and ensure that support mechanisms such as mentors are readily available in the workplace.
Promoting traditional ways to take care of yourself at work will help you build a happy, productive team.
How can I assess the results of self-care?
There are many ways to assess self-care results. One of these is the well-known SWOT analysis. This stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and potential solutions. Although most often used for strategic business planning, the SWOT analysis can be applied to self-care efforts in your organisation.
- Strengths: What fruitful outcomes have self-care practises produced? What strategies work best?
- Weaknesses: What efforts seem ineffective? Do you know of any employees who are still having difficulty?
- Opportunities: How can self-care initiatives in the future be improved? Are employees being asked for their opinions?
- Threats: Are there any (or all) people in an organisation that pose a threat to self-care efforts and/or self-care? Do you think such threats are being addressed?
Self-care is not only good for your health but also for the health of your colleagues. It will help you be more productive and increase your company’s bottom line. It’s a win for all.
Credit: LifeNator
