With the rise of startups, tech companies, and the work-hard mentality, burnout rates remain high. Many can’t manage the time it takes to balance work in addition to their personal life. Moreso, people struggle to maintain the wellness element of both their personal and professional lives. You heard me right — your well-being and health play into the personal aspects and professional aspects of your life. As a result, don’t cordon it off to your free time or after hours space. Instead, consider how you can synergize minor steps into your career.
From a physical standpoint, set yourself up for success. If you can’t sit for a long period of time — take calls while you walk around an empty conference room. Pack lunches that are going to give you the brainpower you need to get through a full workday. Poptarts don’t cut it. Also, remember that your emotional well-being is equally as important. If there’s something or someone in the way of your personal wellness, see your manager or someone in human resources and make a plan for resolving these roadblocks. You want to love what you do and you should! If your company has a wellness program (It probably does — it’s 2018 after all) take advantage of it. There’s strength and accountability in numbers. As Danna Korn puts it, “In the 1970s, health gurus popularized a concept called readiness to change. They argued that people only participate in wellness once they feel ready — whatever that means.”
Employees, it’s not just you guys concerning yourselves with your own health and well-being in addition to your career. As companies evolve and reorient themselves to attract talent from younger generations, they continue to develop more opportunities for a flexible workplace environment that creates more opportunities to work wellness into the routine. Statistics show that millennials want a more flexible environment. It makes sense too. As Elizabeth Dukes says, many jobs can be done remotely, thanks to technology advancements, and it opens the door for more on-demand services for employers. It seems like an obvious win-win in that regard.
You may know I also blog about my work in recruiting, human resources and talent acquisition on my other site here, so if you are asking yourself “You blog about work on one space and wellness on the other? Aren’t you even dividing work and wellness online?” Simply put, no. My work is wellness — the wellness of employees, the welfare of my company through human resources and support. Sure, a work-life balance acts as an obvious solution for some and I apply some of that approach to my websites. That being said, I don’t think enough people consider how they can combine what they do with how they handle their health as opposed to strictly separating the two. I hope this post and blog in general can help inspire you to effectively integrate wellness into your daily routine, including in the workplace.
Originally published at tamaracooksey.net on March 2, 2018.