Spring is officially here and it’s time to step-up our wellbeing...
We should care about our wellbeing all year round, but there’s something about Spring, with its blooming flowers and new beginnings, that makes us feel renewed. It's a great, inspiring time of year that employers can utilise and begin workplace wellbeing strategies with the help of occupational health.
Wellbeing is a very broad term, and it can have many aspects. The key aspects are physical wellbeing and mental wellbeing, and if one aspect is neglected, then it can impact the other. The two link together closely, and so it’s important to work on both in order to ensure complete and positive wellbeing. Overall, however, it’s “the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy.”
How UKIM Occupational Health & Wellbeing can help you support employee wellbeing this spring, and all year-round…
At UKIM our goal is simple: to help businesses create healthy and productive workforces. To do this, we have bespoke services developed by specialists, that are designed to maintain and improve employee wellbeing. From physical wellbeing to mental wellbeing, we have tailored and specialist in-house support available for workplaces and employees. After all, physical and mental wellbeing are connected and so to look after one, is looking after the other too.
Our vast range of services include:
- Employee Wellbeing Strategies
- Case Management
- Pre-placement Assessments
- Physiotherapy
- Health Surveillance
- Psychology & Counselling
- Absence & Presenteeism Management
- Menopause in the Workplace
How does our occupational health & wellbeing support benefit workplaces?
Occupational health has many benefits for workplaces, including greater tangible returns, increased productivity, less absences, and better retention of employees. This is because keeping staff healthy, means that they’re less likely to be off work sick, as well as fully functioning when they are present at work, thus tackling any productivity issues.
Furthermore, if staff are happy at work, then it means they’re less likely to leave or quit; making sure they feel supported is key to achieving this, especially as research now shows that Gen-z and younger generations are looking for their own returns on investments when it comes to careers.
All of which benefits employers and workplaces operationally and financially. When it comes to absences, presenteeism, and recruitment, there are a lot of hidden costs which can be damaging to businesses. Investing in occupational health and wellbeing is the solution to these problems.
There are various things that employees can do to improve overall wellbeing, and sometimes many things can just come down to personal preferences. For instance, someone might find walking as the best way to relax, whereas someone else may feel like watching a movie or TV series is the best way to relax. Your location can also influence self-care - we have some great workplace related tips to help you boost staff morale with practical mental wellbeing strategies.
Some wellbeing top-tips to share with employees from UKIM's Lead Psychologist, Dr Kayode...
Physical:
- Exercise- relieves stress and increases endorphins (feel-good chemicals).
- Regular sleep – 7-8 hours a night.
- Eating regularly and healthily.
- Learning to recognise your physical symptoms of stress.
- Going for a walk after difficult interactions to calm down.
- Breathing exercises.
Emotional:
- Asking for help when you need it.
- Feeling able to say no/ enforce your boundaries.
- Recognising that others struggle with similar difficulties to you.
- Taking time for self-reflection.
- Spending time with friends and family or loved ones.
- Time in nature.
- Do your favourite activity/ go to your favourite place.
- Regularly assess your work - life balance.
- Limit ‘heavy’ content in reading, films, activities, etc. when outside of work.
- Keeping a balance between spending time with others and alone.
These are all personal strategies that can really have a positive impact on employee's mood and mental health. It's important that workplaces encourage these simple steps.
Feeling good and positive in ourselves, then has a positive impact on other areas in our lives, like at work and our relationships throughout life.
