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Self-Care Strategies for Employees: A Guide to Boost Well-being and Productivity

Introduction

As our world becomes more fast-paced and every meeting becomes urgent, it can be easy to lose sense of whether you’re taking care of your well-being as an employee or not. While it may earn you some brownie points to be the first in the office and the last one to leave, it’s not sustainable or even productive in the long run.

In today’s article, we’re going to explore various self-care strategies that employees can employ to boost their well-being and productivity, both in and out of the workplace.

5 Self-Care Strategies To Boost Employee Productivity And Well-Being

Here are five self-care strategies that can be employed to boost well-being and productivity among employees in an organization:

Set And Respect Work-Life Boundaries

One of the best ways to take care of yourself as an employee is to be vigilant of acceptable and unacceptable workplace behavior. Knowing when to give more time to your work and when to pull away, especially if it impacts your well-being is an important thing to do.

Whether you work in an in-office, remote, or hybrid environment, adopting proper ways to disconnect from and reconnect with work can help you achieve a healthy work-life balance, which is key to your well-being, both in and out of office.

Here are some ways to set and respect boundaries in and out of work as a part of your self-care journey:

  • Adhere To Work Timings: Working in set timings, especially while working from home can help you disconnect from work and avoid working long but unproductive hours.
  • Plan Ahead: One of the best ways to stick to your boundaries is by planning ahead. Whether it’s a day or a week in advance, knowing more about your work schedule, tasks, and meetings can help you organize your work in a productive way without creating unnecessary stress.
  • Set Achievable Goals: Always say yes to more work only if you’re physically and mentally ready to fulfill the task. Dividing your tasks for the day or even a week into chunks of achievable, and time bound SMART goals can help you achieve more in a less span of time.

Adopting Mindfulness Techniques

There is a deep connection between mindfulness and well-being. When employees actively engage in activities that help them ground themselves, and restructure their life, both in and out of work, you can become equipped to take care of yourself.

Being able to stay present in the moment, and focus on your tasks mindfully can help reduce the need for working more. By working more productively, you can actively take care of your well-being while performing to the best of your abilities, creating a work environment.

Here are some ways you can practice mindfulness at work:

  • Practice Gratitude: Write down three things you are grateful for everyday before starting your work. These could be things related to your work or life in general. Refocusing your attention to positive things can help improve your employee morale and add to your emotional well-being.
  • Be Intentional: Whether you’re going for a meeting, or collaborating with your colleagues, being intentional about how you approach your work and work-related stress can help you create a healthy work-life balance and foster a productive work environment.
  • Practice Single Tasking: It can be overwhelming to work on multiple tasks at the same time, and can reduce your productivity while increasing your stress levels. Instead, prioritize your tasks for the day and follow a hard to easiest task approach. It will help you finish more work in a shorter amount of time.

Investing In A Self Care Routine

Just like you invest in creating a work routine, a gym routine, or even a daily routine; similarly, you must actively create a self care routine that you can follow everyday, or even weekly to take care of yourself, both physically and mentally.

A self-care routine can look very different from person to person, and may include aspects like working out daily, focusing on a tried and tested skincare regimen, or journaling every night before bed. You must explore what activities help you connect with yourself and reduce your stress.

If adding too many steps to your self care practice feels overwhelming right now, start with these three simple steps:

  • Eat Well: Aim to create balanced meals and supplement your body with micro and macronutrients. However, that doesn’t mean that you need to restrict your diet. In fact, you can nourish yourself by making delicious home cooked meals. So, in order to be healthy, you may want to learn how to cook your favorite lobster or chicken dishes in pots and/or ovens, or find ways to create healthy desserts like chocolate barks, soufflé and tarts at home.
  • Stay Physically Active: Adding some kind of regular movement in your day, even if you don’t have the time to go to gym, can benefit you immensely in the long run. Whether you enjoy walking, running, doing yoga, or some type of strength training, make sure to do it regularly and move frequently, especially if you work a desk job. Your body and mind will thank you for it.
  • Develop Deeper Emotional Connections: Our friends and family are an important part of our life. When we’re engrossed in our work, we may forget about connecting with people outside our work, which can hamper our mental health. Actively seek ways to connect with people, be it your older circle, or making new friends through shared hobbies.

Understanding Workplace Well-Being Policies

A core strategy of workplace wellness and self-care for employees involves knowing the policies that have been put in place to boost their well-being at work. As an employee, you must actively know about the corporate policies for employee well-being and engagement.

Moreover, if you’re in a role such as HR, be it in any industry, you can look for ways to contribute to employee engagement and wellness by contributing to these policies.

Here are a few self-care strategies that must be adopted at every workplace:

  • Flexible Work Arrangements: Giving employees the opportunity to choose their own working hours, or where they want to work from can help them make more autonomous decisions about how to be their most productive selves. If your organization offers workplace flexibility, use it to the fullest to create your own self-care strategy at work.
  • Stress Management Resources: Many organizations offer multiple stress levels management and mental healthy friendly resources at work. Be it someone who’s professionally trained within the organization, or an external resource, if your organization offers you a chance to let out your stress, both in and outside of work, you must use these resources carefully.
  • Ideal Working Conditions: A lot of factors like space, ventilation, lighting, and healthy working environment can directly contribute to boosting an employee’s well-being and productivity. Say, an office in places like Phoenix or Scottsdale, during the colder months, can benefit from high-quality commercial lighting solutions within the office, along with automatic thermostat settings for employees to work in comfortably and can lead to higher job satisfaction.

Utilize Your Time Off And Breaks

Being a great employee requires an ability to know when you’re working productively and when the long hours are taking a toll on your well-being, ultimately impacting your work-life balance and leading to dissatisfaction.

Studies have shown that taking periodic breaks during the working hours, using methods such as pomodoro technique, and using PTO time can be beneficial for an employee’s overall well-being. 

Here’s how to make the most of your time off and know when it’s time to take a break:

  • Identify Early Signs Of Burnout: Knowing when to take a break is important, but signs preceding a burnout are easy to ignore. If you constantly feel exhausted, anxious, irritable, and have trouble concentrating or sleeping, it might be the right time to take some rest.
  • Take Regular Breaks: During your work day, whether it’s in-person or remote, you must fix time for your lunch break, walks, and tea/coffee breaks. Use this time as a reward system to complete your work. Scheduling your breaks can help you show up as your productive self at work and encourage you to complete your work when a break is just around the corner.
  • Use Your Vacation Time: Last but not least, never miss out on vacation time. Whether you’ve planned an international escapade, or plan to visit your family, always use the vacation time offered by your organization to rejuvenate yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Final Thoughts

Being productive at work is important for employees, but so is taking care of their well-being both in the workplace and outside of it. The strategies given above only scratch the surface of what you can do to take care of yourself.

Feel free to learn more about what makes you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy and happy. Practicing these strategies in your daily life can help you boost your well-being and productivity.

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