Dear MDECOE community,
As we begin the 2021-22 academic year still facing many workplace challenges, it is critical that self-care is a part of our daily routine to move forward in a healthy and balanced way. Self-care is especially important because the pandemic has exacerbated job related burnout. According to a recent Calm Business blog on Creating a Culture of Self-Care in the Workplace, “We spend roughly a third of our lives at work, so shelving self-care for ‘later’ just won’t cut it anymore. And we’re already seeing the result of this; burnout has become a growing problem. Self-care alone won’t solve burnout, but having it recognized as a priority within your organization can make a huge difference when it comes to building happier, more sustainable workday routines for you …” Here are some ways for leaders and colleagues to create space for self-care in the workplace:
1. Foster good habits
- Have walking meetings. Encourage people to get out and about for meetings and calls. Scientifically, it’s been proven to promote outside-of-the-box thinking, but it also helps in terms of health—both mental and physical.
- Encourage people to log off and shut down. You want people to know that they’re not just able to but expected to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
- Discourage eating lunch at the computer. Lunch is the perfect opportunity for people to get a bit of a mental break, whether by actually getting up and going for a walk, or by simply focusing on something non-work related.
- Practice what you preach. You can set a good example for others on your team and in the organization by living by your own self-care rules! Manage your time, take breaks, go for walks, and let people know it’s okay to prioritize their own needs sometimes.
2. Respect people’s time
- Build pauses into the workday. Calendars that are overfilled with meetings don’t give people the time they need to think or process at optimum levels. By working these little breathing spaces into the work week, you can encourage better work habits and allow yourself and others to reach their full potential. (How about 50-minute meetings as the default instead of a full hour?).
- Set communication time boundaries. Encourage employees to set boundaries around their time.
- Allow for flexibility around and during the workday. People are far less likely to succumb to stress if they know they have the freedom to step out, tend to children, walk the dog, or do other important personal things they need to, without worry.
3. Practice mindfulness
- Practice gratitude in your words and actions. And be sure to encourage the habit throughout your team and the wider organization. You want to build a supportive culture where people openly celebrate each other’s wins and support each other through hard times.
- Support employees in their mindfulness journeys. Provide them with helpful tools or sessions that encourage them to slow down and breathe. You could have group yoga sessions, or even just introduce brief (but regular) five-minute meditations.
- Introduce wellness ‘check-ins.' Actively encourage employees to self-assess their mental well-being on a weekly basis, and have a system for them to get support.
4. Help others by helping yourself first
- It’s easy to understand the need for self-care, but it’s a fact that those who look after others tend to overlook themselves in the process. To be at your best, you need to make sure you’re taking care of yourself too.
To read more, see the full article at: https://business.calm.com/resources/blog/creating-a-culture-of-self-care-in-the-workplace
https://www.csun.edu/eisner-education/self-care/articles-information-self-care
Let’s commit to creating space for self-care as a part of our daily work routine.
Warmly,
Shari