Let’s Talk: Workplace Health & Wellness
As we all know, mental, physical, and social wellness can be difficult to navigate, especially when it comes to our careers. Particularly in the last year, it has become increasingly important to recognize when work is taking a toll on your health and how to change that.
When you are not feeling your best at work, it is important to identify and evaluate your emotions to get a better idea of why you’re feeling the way that you are. In tandem, it is important to recognize if your job has been affecting your mental health over time, or if it has been a tough few days.
A significant indicator that work is impacting your mental health over a long period of time is loss of interest in your job and low productivity. Decreased mental health at work can show up in your daily life as dreading work or having trouble thinking about everything that has to get done. You may notice that these behaviours impact how you navigate and interact within your personal relationships too. You might notice yourself declining invites to social events, finding it hard to communicate with those around you, and feeling torn past your capacity when juggling work-life balance. More often than not, personal stressors can filter their way into your work life, and vice versa, too.
So what can you do about it?
First off, consider steps that you can take personally to explore your emotions and find solutions.
Consider journaling! It can be great for releasing all of those emotions into one space. It can be very helpful to see everything going on in your brain, on paper. You’ll be able to pinpoint key areas to focus on.
Take a look at what you’re eating. This doesn’t mean that you have to be eating all of the vegetables in the world, but make sure that you’re eating enough food to fuel your body and drinking enough water.
Try to get some exercise. A 10 minute walk around the neighborhood can do wonders for clearing your mind.
Talk to a friend or family member. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to listen to you and offer some advice.
Look into speaking with a doctor or therapist. They’ll be able to help you dig deeper into what is truly bothering you, and hopefully offer some peace of mind.
Taking these small steps can lead to big results. However, if you’re still noticing negative impacts at work, there are steps that you can take professionally. Although it can be nerve wracking to have a conversation with your employer, there are ways to approach this daunting conversation.
Take time to think about what you need from your employer. This could look like accommodation for some time off, flexibility in your work schedule, boundaries to when and how often you respond to work messages, and more. It will be a more successful conversation if you’re able to come into the conversation with ideas and co-create from there.
Try to come up with solutions that can benefit the team! It will be helpful if you’re able to point out how an accommodation for you can benefit them as well.
Once you’ve thought through your emotions and come up with a plan for what you want to say, it is time to talk to management. You should speak to a manager or someone in the HR department that you trust and have a good working relationship with. Schedule a time to meet in private, and make sure to schedule extra time just in case.
Be clear with everything you’ve thought about, but also remember that you’ve thought about how work is impacting your mental health and it is fresh news to whoever you are having the conversation with. Co-create with them, because it’s not just up to you to come up with the solutions. Ask questions and keep an open mind while you navigate this time together!
In addition to having this conversation with your employer, it might be useful to research the company’s wellness program if they have one. Recently, companies have become increasingly aware of how best to support their employees. This has led to employee wellness and benefit programs encompassing the various aspects of health: physical, mental, and social. If your company does not offer an optimal program for your needs, there are some companies with great wellness programs that you can use as examples to help guide discussions with your employer.
For example, Johnson & Johnson has a very comprehensive wellness program which includes extended parental leave policies, veterans benefits, and fertility/surrogacy support. J&J runs an educational “Energy for Performance” class open to the general public that helps participants identify and prioritize the most meaningful components of their lives, and focus on providing healthy and accessible foods. On top of all of that, the company runs challenges to encourage employees to get active together which helps promote physical wellness and community.
Accenture has also been featured for having a very well rounded and inclusive wellness program. The company focuses on being easily accessible through fostering a community of 6500+ mental health allies. Accenture offers a versatile wellness program including in-person and online educational courses for lifestyle needs; anywhere from elder care to financial literacy. They’ve also created a charitable trust that helps provide support to those who need it in times of crisis.
Lastly, Best Buy has an employee support program called Blue Gives Back. The program encourages employees to volunteer in communities that they work in and give back locally. Once employees volunteer, Best Buy will match the monetary donation or the dollar equivalent of the time spent volunteering. The Blue Gives Back program allows for employees to spend a portion of their week working with a cause they are passionate about. If you love volunteering and find yourself struggling to find the time, this program may be an option to bring up with your leader! Finding time for your passions supports your mental health and wellbeing.
These are just three examples of what some companies are doing to support employee wellness. I encourage you to look for wellness programs around you too! Overall, sometimes it just takes the first step to address your needs at work and begin the important conversations that your wellness deserves.
References
Caron, Christina. “When Your Job Harms Your Mental Health.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 June 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/06/02/well/mind/job-work-mental-health.html.
“How to Talk about Your Mental Health with Your Employer.” Harvard Business Review, 30 July 2021, hbr.org/2021/07/how-to-talk-about-your-mental-health-with-your-employer.
Rawe, Julie. “Workplace Mental HEALTH: 5 Ways to Support Employee Wellness.” Understood, Understood, 5 May 2021, www.understood.org/articles/en/workplace-mental-health-5-ways-to-support-employee-wellness.
Bartz, Andrea. “This Healthcare Company Is Determined to Have the HEALTHIEST Employees in the World.” Content Lab U.S., Johnson & Johnson, 4 Mar. 2019, www.jnj.com/innovation/how-johnson-johnson-is-improving-workplace-wellness-for-healthiest-employees.
Cukier, Eileen. Bizjournals.com, 14 Aug. 2020, www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2020/08/14/2020-healthiest-employers-accenture.html.
“Home.” Best Buy Canada, www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/about/social-impact/blt851c1aab6e830931.