August is National Wellness Month. The focus on prioritizing self-care, healthy routines and stress management feels more timely than ever when I log into check the morning news. As Josh described in his blog post a few weeks ago, rising COVID case numbers are bringing back an anxiety that I had sincerely hoped was behind us after weeks of easy summer activity.
Like many employees across the region, I’m also a parent preparing to send my kids back to school. Alongside my regular work and home to-do lists, the COVID questions and logistics are creeping back in. At our last team meeting we questioned whether to go back to Zoom (not right now, but we’ll monitor). When I added backpacks and lunchboxes to my sons’ back-to-school shopping cart last week, I also added a triple pack of reusable masks (these things are like socks – I swear I lose half of them every time I do laundry).
Why is wellbeing important in the workplace?
According to Cipd.co “Promoting wellbeing can help prevent stress and create positive working environments where individuals and organisations can thrive. Good health and wellbeing can be a core enabler of employee engagement and organisational performance.”
I’m a firm believer that we don’t check our ‘home-selves’ at the door when we go into work. The mental and emotional burdens we carry almost certainly impact our work – whether we want them to or not. And as Josh referenced last week, these burdens can feel especially heavy for people in the social good community, who regularly need to tap into hope and inspiration in the face of some pretty steep challenges.
For the next week, we plan to share some additional workplace wellbeing tips from our friends at Willis Towers Watson, the leading global advisory firm featured in The Social Good Report: Profit & Purpose. Their experts will help break down some tangible advice for taking care of your employees, taking care of yourself and will share some examples of where they are seeing this done well.
In the meantime, check in on a friend, colleague or fellow leader. While it can feel lonely at times, we truly are in this together.