8 WAYS TO IMPROVE OCCUPATIONAL WELLNESS
What is occupational wellness?
Finding meaningful or enjoyable work is incredibly important, especially since many of us spend so much of our time working. Occupational wellness is one of the eight dimensions of holistic wellness that contribute to overall health and wellness, and it is defined as preparing for and participating in work that provides personal satisfaction and life enrichment that is consistent with your values, goals, and lifestyle. Additionally, it is:
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- Balancing work, leisure, and other aspects of your life.
- Taking advantage of opportunities to learn new skills that can enhance your current or future employment.
- Not working outside of scheduled work hours.
- Striving to develop good work habits (i.e., dependability, initiative, etc.).
- Having a manageable workload.
- Effectively handling your level of work-related stress.
- Knowing where to find employment opportunities.
- Managing your time effectively.
- Exploring paid and/or volunteer opportunities that interest you.
Want to improve your work life? Here are eight suggestions for improving occupational wellness:
1
Disconnect from work when you’re not at work.
In the book Set Boundaries, Find Peace, author Nedra Glover Tawwab suggests that burnout results from unhealthy boundaries. To prevent burnout, turn off your work email and phone after hours. Everyone needs space and time to recharge after work, and it’s hard to fully disconnect when receiving notifications that remind us of work.
2
Take Breaks.
Taking a few minutes away from your desk in the middle of the work day or a few days out of the office is crucial for preventing burnout. Small breaks throughout the day can improve creativity, focus, and information retention. Longer breaks have additional benefits like decreased risk of mortality and coronary heart disease. Regardless of whether or not you have a planned vacation, make a commitment to yourself to take time off regularly.
3
Work smarter, not harder.
Improving time management skills can help you finish work within a reasonable timeframe. To assess your current workload, make a list of all of your work responsibilities. Then, identify the tasks that drain your energy and see if there are ways to find support for these tasks. If that’s not an option, try completing these draining tasks first thing in the morning. We’re most productive in the morning, and completing dreaded tasks as early as possible prevents us from procrastinating, which leads to unnecessary anxiety and stress.
4
Improve your communication skills.
This may involve learning to ask for help or saying no. It is common for work stress and burnout to stem from people-pleasing tendencies, which may cause us to overcommit and struggle to ask for help. You may want to consider boundaries related to the following: doing work for others, working outside of designated work hours, taking on additional responsibilities that are not part of your job description, spending time with coworkers outside of work, participating in office gossip, using your allotted paid time off, responding to emails or texts outside of designated work hours, working without breaks, talking about inappropriate topics at the workplace, being asked about your personal life, or doing unpaid work. It is essential to set these boundaries as soon as possible because, according to Tawwab, “the more you appear to handle, the more work you’ll be expected to handle.”
5
Ask for what you need.
If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. Other people are not always looking out for our best interests, so we must advocate for ourselves. Even if you aren’t sure that your request can be fulfilled, ask anyways. Want the option to work from home two days a week? Ask for it. Want to have a meeting-free Friday? Ask for it. Want more compensation? Ask for it.
6
Form connections with coworkers.
Spending our workday with people we feel connected to helps boost our mood while at work. Make an effort to connect with your coworkers regularly while working, even if you work from home.
7
Find work that feels personally meaningful, and remind yourself of this meaning regularly.
We tend to deal with stress better when we remind ourselves of our values and how something connects to our values. When you come home from a long work day, try to identify one meaningful part of the day, even if it was just a five-minute conversation with a coworker before a meeting.
8
Take risks and challenge yourself.
Being bold and striving for what we want in our career is the only way to get it. People who feel stuck in their careers are mostly limited by their own thoughts and beliefs. Feel the fear about taking a risk and do it anyway. Apply for that job that you think you are underqualified for. Network with that person you feel intimidated by. Ask for that promotion you are interested in. Change career paths when you feel unhappy in your field.
At Embodied Wellness Center, we take a holistic approach to mental health treatment. Interested in holistic therapy or want to learn more about it?
*Disclaimer: The content posted on this website is for marketing and educational purposes only. It is not, nor is it intended to be, psychotherapy or a replacement for mental health treatment. Please seek the advice of your licensed medical or mental health professional, and do not avoid seeking treatment based on anything read on this website.
