by Caryl Teh
When you hear “self-care”, what comes to mind? A morning jog? An evening bubble bath? Whatever you imagined, chances are it didn’t take place at work. But today we’d like to challenge that mindset.
Here’s the problem: we spend roughly a third of our lives at work. So shelving self-care for “later” is probably not the best way to manage stress, build resilience, or ward off burnout. It is far more effective to practice self-care as a regular, integrated part of your routine, rather than a complete departure from it. Here are 10 ways you can cultivate that culture in your own routine and within your team.
Foster good habits
● Encourage people to walk away from their work desk for meetings and calls! Scientific studies have shown that something about a change of scenery just sparks inspiration and outside-of-the-box thinking while boosting both mental and physical health.
● Encourage people to log off and shut down. Make this something people not just can do, but SHOULD do to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
● Have lunch with colleagues, not your computer. Lunch is the perfect opportunity to get a bit of a mental break. Get some fresh air by taking a walk outside! Or maybe just enjoy doing something non-work related.
● Practice what you preach. Especially if you’re a team leader, be the first to kick-off the initiative. No one wants to be thought as slacking off so your example communicates clearly to your team that it’s okay to prioritise their own mental health needs when necessary.
Respect people’s time
● Build breaks into the workday. Calendars fully booked with back-to-back meetings won’t give people the time they need to think or process at optimum levels. Maybe try changing default meeting durations to 50 minutes instead of a full hour. Give yourself and your teammates time to reach their full potential.
● Set communication time boundaries. Maybe you’re working with someone in a different time zone, or need to send an occasional after-hours email or message. Whatever the case, it should be generally accepted—and explicitly noted—that people are not expected to answer immediately.
● Allow for flexibility during the workday. People are far less likely to succumb to stress if they know they have the freedom to attend to personal emergencies should one arise. For
example, stepping out to take care of their child who got sick, deal with a break-in report or send their mother or father to the hospital after a fall.
Show you care
● Show gratitude in your words and actions. And encourage this habit throughout your team and the wider organization. You want to build a supportive culture where people openly celebrate each other’s wins and support each other through hard times.
● Support employees in their self-care journeys. Have a work chat where people can share helpful tools or sessions that remind or encourage others to slow down and breathe. Maybe try group yoga sessions, or introduce brief (but regular) five-minute meditations.
● Introduce wellness check-ins. Actively encourage employees to self-assess their mental well-being on a weekly basis, and have a clear, confidential system for them to report any concerns they have to line managers. This could be through dedicated meetings, or by expanding existing work check-ins to include this topic. Sometimes people need a reason to allow themselves to slow down and consider how they’re actually doing.
While these 10 simple steps won’t solve all the problems in your organisation, they can make a huge difference in building happier, more sustainable work routines for yourself and your teammates. Go on, spread some self-care love today.
Source: Cal
