As employees, we’re far more likely to perform better at work when we are physically and mentally healthy. We’re also more focussed, positive, creative, committed and motivated, and, if we feel our work is meaningful and valued, will likely experience higher levels of wellbeing.

Companies that prioritise employee engagement and mental wellbeing tend to perform better, getting improved commitment from their teams. However, there are many work-related factors that can still impact our mental health, and it’s estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety.

Factors like unsociable hours, job insecurity, limited support and excessive workloads can all take their toll, and in-fact nearly 1 in 7 people experience mental health issues in the workplace.  While employers should be doing as much as possible to look after their staff, it’s important we take time to look after ourselves too, so that we can protect against significant issues down the line.

There are a number of measures we can take to give ourselves the best possible chance of maintaining positive wellbeing in our lives.

 

Focus on the basics of your physical health

You’ve likely heard some variation of the term “a healthy body leads to a healthy mind”. Making sure your body and mind function at an optimum levels can make you better prepared to deal with the demands of work.

So focus on physical self-care as part of a daily routine, and ensure you’re doing what you can to stay fit and healthy.

Try to:

• Add a sustainable exercise routine or enjoyable physical activity into your life to promote endorphins

• Stay hydrated – This will help energy levels and brain function

• Get enough sleep – This improves your memory, concentration, decision making and helps you think more clearly

• Stick to a healthy diet – Foods high in sugars and saturates may fill a craving but result in energy crashes. Regular, balanced meals will provide your body and brain with a more nutrient rich, longer lasting and effective source of energy  

• Practice mindfulness or a meditation. Regular deep breathing exercises have been proven to lower levels of stress and help reduce anxiety

Maintain a positive work/life balance

This is usually one of the first pieces of advice we’re given, but it’s easy to feel so tired from a busy and intense job that we don’t have the energy left to spend on ourselves. However, it’s important to schedule activities in our spare time that allow us to distance ourselves mentally and physically from work, while giving our lives meaning and happiness.

Arrange to meet up with friends and family

We all need human companionship for emotional support, healthy distraction and a sense of belonging. So, ensure you are arranging to meet up with friends and family on a regular basis, whether for evenings out, or just a quick coffee and catch up. Staying connected to the important people in our lives will prevent us becoming isolated and consumed by our work.

Take time to enjoy your favourite hobby

Having enjoyable activities booked in to your diary, whether for social clubs, sporting groups or meeting a friend for a shared interest will break up your working life, give you points in the week you can look forward to, boost your confidence and give you a different sense of purpose.

It’s important for our mental wellbeing to view our lives not just in relation to our work, but also our personal passions.

Avoid an over reliance on technology in your free time

It can be easy to lose our spare time entirely to social media on our phones, video games and TV. While these can be welcome distractions, they can also consume our hard-earned time off. To feel we have a positive work life balance, we want to feel like we are having meaningful experiences in our life so we can appreciate what we’re working for.

Whether it’s as simple as getting out for a walk or visiting a new environment, to enjoying activities with others, try to fill your free time in a way you’ll remember.

Focus on your strengths

We often tend to judge ourselves too harshly by our perceived mistakes while totally ignoring our achievements.

With fast paced work, long hours, high pressure and packed rotas, it’s inevitable that we will all make mistakes from time to time. Taking time to assess and learn from these is vital to our personal and professional development. However, letting mistakes dominate your self-perception and knock your confidence can impact your performance and focus.

Instead, try to be aware of every success throughout the day, no matter how small or routine it seems. Appreciate the gratitude of a client, a successful procedure, leaving work on time, helping a colleague or successfully dealing with a potential problem. You can even diarise these at the end of the day as an ongoing reference to look back to after a tough experience.  Recognising what we do well will give us the self-belief to perform at our best.

Communication and mutual support

Communication is key, and feeling confident that we can be open to others about our feelings is hugely helpful to our mental wellbeing.

Being part of a supportive community at work is therefore something that can help the mental wellbeing of the whole team, and something you can actually help promote. Reaching out with acts of kindness to your colleagues will encourage trust from others, give you a feeling of self-worth and help build connections.

This could be as simple as offering help or asking how someone is. Taking lunch breaks at the same time as colleagues is also a great opportunity to discuss how you are feeling, ask for advice or simply provide an enjoyable distraction from work.