4 Tips To Encourage Better Wellness
John Pierce is an entrepreneur with a focus on C-Suite consulting, M&A in the RIA segment, and a builder and leader of high-quality teams.
We spend so much time and energy attempting to be more productive, profitable and of higher value in our work. As we approach the height of summer, we should pause and reconsider. Post-Covid, I’ve been seeing a clear trend in human resources to focus on wellness and well-being for the betterment of each employee.
After my job was eliminated four months ago, I decided to spend a lot of my time breaking negative habits. That’s how I discovered the way little things were building on each other to impact my physical, cognitive and emotional health. Based on my experience, I’m suggesting four changes to professionals’ daily routines that may lead to pleasantly shocking results.
1. Take A Break
Emotional and mental exhaustion from work can spill over into our personal lives. For years, my work routine was airplane and hotel travel on a Sunday or Monday, then returning home that Friday. I never realized the toll it was taking on my physical, mental and emotional health—even as I gained weight and wanted to spend all weekend sleeping. I was so focused on the job, I couldn’t tell how beaten up I was.
For you and your workforce, it’s imperative to become more aware of when it’s time to step away before negative side effects start to weigh on you. So finding ways to take breaks at consistent times during the workday is step one.
Then, instead of powering through work, everyone should take advantage of the wellness benefits that your healthcare plans provide. For example, some packages offer paid wellness days, allowing people to take a day off for something rejuvenating like giving back to the community, trying new activities or simply nurturing their mental health. One surprising benefit that I was able to utilize was having a healthcare provider come to my home once a year to check blood pressure and basic vital signs. It felt awesome to be able to take a little break and get feedback on my health at the same time.
2. Find Ways To Exercise
In 2019, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published a review that suggested regular physical activity enhances our cognitive abilities like attention, memory and learning. Think about it. Getting out of your chair to walk, bike, swim, lift weights or even just stretch can help reduce health comorbidities that cascade and reduce overall quality of life. Additionally, when employees take care of their health, it leads to reduced medical costs for your organization and less time spent away from work because of illness.
Many employer-provided benefits help you and your workforce access better resources for exercising, such as discounted gym membership or access to an onsite gym. You could also offer group activities away from the workplace to encourage people to get moving or share the wealth of exercise information that many industry organizations provide to help underscore the value of exercise.
That said, you’ll need exercise champions who will take charge of organizing walks at lunch or even starting an exercise ERG. Think about who you could lean on as the next champion in your organization.
3. Limit Screen Time
The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the amount of screen time people engaged in. But we need to recognize the negative impact that constantly staring at screens has on our quality of life. Limiting screen time by just one hour before bed has been shown to improve the quality of your sleep.
We need to take back some time every day. If your organization has a hybrid work model, encourage employees to step away from their monitors regularly. If you’re back in the office, suggest blocking out time daily so people can give their eyes a rest from the strain of staring at a screen. I force myself to avoid checking my email that one last time, every time, before bed.
Limiting screen time starts with each of us. HR leaders can model a healthy relationship with screens by powering down, putting their phones away and finding ways to engage with employees in person.
4. Actually Get Some Sleep
While some people may push back and say they don’t have enough hours in a day to rest, I’m an advocate for getting eight or nine hours of sleep each night. I used to justify minimal sleep during the work week, thinking I could make up for it on the weekend. But there are no makeups. You need to focus on your sleep health now.
Employers can’t directly impact the amount of sleep employees get, but you can educate people on the importance of rest. Research shows that while we sleep our brains remove toxins to ensure cellular health. Additionally, sleep is critical for memory and learning—key components for being productive throughout the day. Finally, REM sleep processes our emotional memories and is suggested to help our emotional awareness, a critical emotional intelligence pillar that helps foster a healthy, engaged workplace.
These four tips, if you commit to them, are a great way to start the process of improving your well-being. Share them with your teams, and encourage everyone to look back in 90 days and see how much more productive and satisfied they are!
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