Healthy Business: Team Wellness Unlocks the Best You in Everyone

company wellness

Workplace wellness has become the buzzword du jour, and with good reason. Integrating wellness into the workplace improves morale, motivation, and productivity, while also reducing absenteeism and turnover. But like any valuable initiative, wellness efforts work best when modeled by managers.

This National Wellness Month, make it a point to embrace wellness – and reap the benefits.

Workplace Wellness Starts With You

In any organization, leadership sets the tone for what’s expected in terms of company culture, values, and priorities. The best way to foster and encourage certain behaviors is to model them yourself. If you want your employees to leverage the benefits of wellness, it’s up to you to embrace wellness to show your team that looking out for yourself and taking time out to rest, recover and focus on the various dimensions of wellbeing isn’t just acceptable – it’s to be encouraged.

So if you’re that manager who works late, skips lunch breaks, avoids taking leave, and struggles with stress, it’s time to rethink and reset. Because the behaviors you exhibit are the ones, you encourage. And while the “work, work, work” mentality is hard to shake, it’s unsustainable in the long run.

Here are a few signs you’re letting your own wellness slide:

  • You’re always tired. Overworking leads to being tired – which impacts the quality of your work. Aim for 8 hours a night and bring your best self to the table.
  • You’re stressed and frustrated. We get anxious and stressed when we neglect our own needs. This can translate into a negative attitude or impatience that undermines your emotional intelligence – and your relationships at work.
  • You’re laser-focused. The pervasive notion of “sacrifice” is a short-sighted approach to work. When you focus solely on work, you neglect the many other areas of life that help people grow as individuals, thinkers, and leaders. Make time for hobbies, exercise, and socializing, and you’ll bring more balance to your work.

Tips for Bringing Wellness Into Your Workplace

You know that wellness matters. Here’s how to foreground it in your workplace:

  • Encourage movement. Whether riding to work, a lunchtime stroll, a post-work yoga session, or a team activity, getting those steps in is good for both the brain and body and helps counteract the impact of sitting all day.
  • Integrate nature. Natural light, outdoor spaces, greenery, and even visits from pets are great ways to help workers reconnect with nature – which has a huge impact on overall wellness and wellbeing. The less your workplace feels like a cubicle farm, the better.
  • Be mindful of workloads. Make sure employees aren’t working into the night or over weekends. Avoid sending emails out of hours, and rethink the idea that time spent at work = productivity. If team members are overworked, reassess their deadlines and responsibilities to see where improvements can be made.
  • Create wellness-minded spaces. Getting away from it all can make a big difference in the working day. Set aside designated spaces for reading, resting, meditating, or just hanging out – and encourage employees to pop in when they need a break.
  • Encourage employee connections. Quality relationships are key to overall well-being, especially during this time of work-from-home and hybrid working. Create opportunities for employees to collaborate, chat and spend time together outside of their day-to-day tasks. A connected team is a resilient team.
  • Embrace flexibility. Flexible work hours can make a huge difference to employee wellbeing, particularly for those who are parents or carers. Design your workplace to be flexible, and give employees the freedom and resources to fit work around the other important aspects of their lives. This also includes encouraging employees to stay home when sick!)
  • Empower employees to grow. Give your employees opportunities to develop their skills and reach their personal and professional goals. Finding meaning and purpose in what you do is key to personal wellness.
  • Take feedback and input. Allowing your employees to identify areas for improvement or change is a great way to empower and involve workers in the organization – and give them ownership over how they spend their days.

Talk to Us About Implementing Wellness From the Top Down

Wellness can take a company from good to great. If you’re looking for guidance on implementing a wellness mindset throughout your company, talk to the team at StellaPop. We can help you design and implement a wellness strategy that translates into improved productivity, retention – and worker happiness.

See Also:

Working Virtually Still Calls for Humanity

Reboot Your Business Space: How to Make Your Workplace More Human

CEO Insight: Building Resilient Teams? Start Here.

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