Self-care, wellness, and mindfulness are everywhere these days. When I talk to clients though, these concepts often feel to them like additional burdens and expectations that they cannot fully achieve. We tell ourselves that we are supposed to be perfect workers, parents, lovers, friends, and now also perfect at self-care.
I advocate for a reframe of this concept. I think self-care is simply the daily things that we do to avoid burnout from the demands and the structure of our lives. This can include breathing exercises, walks, regular breaks, family time, sex, or a hobby. I also believe that despite the "self" in self-care, the onus is not entirely on the individual to make it possible and that organizations need to start prioritizing the wellness of their employees.
Work is where we spend about a third of our lives.
Organizations need healthy and focused employees. It is therefore imperative that as work cultures become even more competitive and demanding organizations invest in finding ways to create self-care oriented work spaces.
A self-care oriented organization is one in which the organization values and prioritizes the health and well being of its employees and understands it to be critical to the organization’s mission and success. This means devoting resources to things like wellness training and mindfulness spaces for staff but most importantly it means assessing and changing company policies and culture. An organization that is serious about creating a healthy work environment communicates this implicitly and explicitly on every level. This might look like not only providing four weeks of vacation but having a system in place that ensures all staff take their vacation time and a culture that discourages work during time off.
Do you need help creating a healthier work culture where diversity thrives?
Comments