It has been another big year for many organisations regarding change, agility, and adaptability. Between COVID and the still rippling effects of ‘The Great Resignation’, many of us are exhausted, stressed and burnout.
But just because 2022 is drawing to a close, doesn’t mean these effects are going to fade out. In fact, it is predicted that these times of change will continue well into 2023. We need to set ourselves up for success by embedding high-performance habits into our lives.
Whether it’s eating well, exercising, drinking lots of water or getting enough sleep, we all have healthy habits we use to help us tackle stressful situations, and build reliance that in turn helps keep us mentally well.
Unconscious wellness strategies that have been built into an everyday routine have now been disrupted largely due to the constant changes we are seeing in the workforce. With change, many of us feel uneasy and struggle to adapt.
There are several healthy habits and many more being discovered to help mental wellness and build resilience.
1 – Establish boundaries between work and home
The line between work time and personal time can become blurred when your office is also your home, or you take your phone or computer with you. This line needs to be defined, as a clear work-mode and a clear switch-off mode. Set yourself up a routine, a regular alarm, start time and finish time with scheduled breaks and exercise.
With emails and calls coming through after 5 pm and you always being contactable, the end of the day can be unclear. Define that time for home, you finish, and you switch off. Don’t blur the lines by checking your emails – digitally detox.
2 – Get outside
I know the morning and afternoon commutes are a struggle, but they get you out of the house or office. When you are working from home or the office if you want to get outside you need to actively work it into your schedule otherwise it won’t happen.
Using techniques such as time blocking to schedule out and split up your day, will help you to prioritise tasks, find time for other activities and reduce the overwhelmingness of the day ahead.
Whether it’s before or after work or during your break, you should aim to get some appreciated fresh air and sunshine. A simple walk with the dog, ride or just stroll around the block helps you mentally detach from work and helps clear your thoughts.
3 – Reach out
Another change that has occurred is the way in which we socialise and communicate. With organic face-to-face interactions largely absent from working life, many amazing new socialising platforms have been established.
Whether it’s Zoom or Teams these amazing technologies are constantly being developed to improve the way we communicate…So use them!
These encounters won’t happen spontaneously or naturally as they would in an office, they need to be proactively planned and organised to maintain positive and healthy relationships.
Conducting daily or weekly meetings, having a coffee over a catch-up with colleagues or if you’re managing people, making sure you are checking in. Don’t keep it strictly business, discuss what you’ve been doing, and how you’ve been keeping, and incorporate those personal aspects of socialising.
Staying connected to others helps to reduce stress levels, helps productivity, and gives people a sense of team belonging.
4 – Make time for yourself!
With a full-time job, you may not feel as though you have little to no downtime. Between work, household jobs, cooking, cleaning, or taking care of the kids, you need to set aside time that is purely for you.
Whatever you do to relax you need to make time to do it. Make time for those podcasts, books, or shows, take a relaxing bath, meditate, or whatever works for your mental well-being.
Mental resilience can always be developed, and these healthy habits can be incorporated but don’t be afraid to seek out or ask your managers for additional resilience training. Mental resilience takes time to grow and develop, it will help you through new and challenging experiences and stressors, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in everyday life.
Build your own wellness and resilience and help those around you do the same, reach out and check in on your colleagues, friends and family, there are a lot of people who are experiencing similar challenges and adjustments during these uncertain times.
Want to learn more about building resilience and well-being? The team at TalentCode HR are always here to assist you. Feel free to call our team on 1300 559 585 for a discussion.