Wellbeing at Work

I want to talk about mental health in the workplace, because sometimes I feel we can get so caught up in expectations and pressures at work that we forget we are only human.

How many of us work through our lunch break? How many of us eat at our desk without recognising what we are tasting or feeling. Do you find you switch one screen for another without giving it much thought?  

We are not machines, we have only got so much energy before we burn out. So we need to look after ourselves in a conscious way, which actually makes us more efficient. There is a tendency to wait until the weekend for fun and relaxation to happen (there are several phrases embedded in our society  such as 'TFI Friday" and "it's that Friday Feeling" that point to this),  but that can mean we hold a lot of expectation for the weekend and there comes a pressure the 'have to' and 'ought to', especially when we may have used up all of our energy during the week and there are little resources left.

Therefore it's important we look after ourselves to support our wellness - it doesn't just have to be for the weekend. It's great having that 'Friday Feeling', but I have got to thinking that why can't the Friday feeling be any day of the week if we want it? It is not easy; I often find I get to Friday and I suddenly dread not having the routine and soon starts the new list of 'to-do's at home. It is easy to get swept up in the adrenaline of 'doing' and meeting deadlines,  and so forgetting what makes us feel good and nourished and taking a breath.

Its hard to find the balance, and I am still learning myself. I went from years in unemployment, to finding a part time job, to moving to a full time one. I don't think I ever took seriously the change of pace a full time job can bring - everything feels like it speeds up and the time you had to do the little but meaningful things gets smaller and smaller. It's easy to get through the day without having taken a real break to allow myself to be fully aware of what I'm thinking or feeling, what I need or what I want. Friday can suddenly arrive and before you know it Monday is here, with the weekend just never feeling long enough! At times, I can feel a sense of burnout: too many commitments, too much responsibility, fear and anxiety, not feeling good enough, not matching up; I just want it all to stop, but then I am afraid I won't be able to get back up again.

What I am learning is that even though I have a 9 to 5 job, which takes up the majority of my time, I can still take that time out for me. I have found just going outside to sit on a bench can work wonders for the fogginess I can sometimes get in my head. It is important to step away from the desk to move, stretch, make a cup of tea and sit there with it for a moment; the emails can wait a few minutes more.

​On brighter days, I enjoy going for a short walk to the nearby park and I write/map down what I want to do when I get home, so it doesn't become all about getting in and just diving in to bed. Sometimes, though, that is what I need - to get in, put the TV on and put my feet up. But I know if I did that every day of the week it would start to make me feel worse. I use my commuting time on the train to connect with others like my friends and family or make it the time for staring out of the window and focusing on my breathing and letting thoughts pass. It is becoming aware of these snippets of time, and noting them down, that helps me to feel more in control of what I spend my time doing and to know I have had that little time for me.

Other ways to help 'burnout'

•  Structuring the week in a calendar to prioritise tasks; leave the less urgent tasks to another week and scale things back.

 

• Divide tasks into pleasurable, necessary, routine, then make sure there is an activity or two  from each group across the week.

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• Control how much access you have to social media, and the news, by choosing to reduce time spent scrolling on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, for example, and becoming aware of when you may be mindlessly checking news feeds and, ask yourself 'what is the purpose of this? Does it help me? Is it making me feel good?' I feel that when I hear too much of the news and spend too much on social media I get caught under a negative cloud and it can feel oppressive and 'doom and gloom.' It is useful and often necessary to know what is going on around the world, but subscribing to something like The Happy Newspaper (a platform for providing positive news and the good that is happening in the world) could be a healthy alternativ. 

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•  Saying no to taking on more responsibility at home and at work where possible. For me this has meant being open with my manager about what can be achieved by the end of the week. Recently I was asked to complete a task by a set time and I had to be honest about what other priorities I had and as a result I provided a more realistic time frame. At home this might mean saying no to new/other invites to events that might come up or saying no to tasks that can wait for the following week. Again, this can be difficult if it involves catching up with friends and family,  but by being honest prevents the added feeling of letting people down last minute if it is too much and you have to cancel.

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•  Write it all down on a piece of paper or diary - just let it all out, whatever thoughts, feelings, fears or hopes come out. It may help to gather your thoughts and find out what is important to you and what you care about. For me this helps to  order my thoughts and prioritise at a later date, that way I can take steps to honour these feelings, whether it might be allowing them simply to be there, or by doing something about them.

• Using an App like Worry Tree to get all the worries down which can encourage problem solving.

• Take a break from the screen. This can be as simple as - when at work - stepping away from the desk and doing a different activity/task that is needed. This can also tie in with going for a short walk outside or a walk to the staff room for a drink. This helps to re-centre the mind and prevent the eyes and the mind getting tired. At home this can mean choosing to read or engage in an activity away from the phone or the TV - this not only helps to rest the mind and the glare from unnatural light, but it also helps to reset the mind and be more connected with body in the moment now, and with the things around you.

• Go outside for fresh air - whether it is to sit on a bench and watch the clouds in the sky, or go for a short walk. I find it harder when it is raining to take myself outside but sometimes this can be refreshing, and that connection to nature in all its form is restorative and refreshing.

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• Stretch! At the desk, against a wall, in the chair. You don't need a yoga studio or a yoga mat/fitness gear to enjoy simple stretches to help open up your chest, warm up your arms and stretch your back and leg muscles. There are simple routines you can find online for stretches to do at work and at home that don't require equipment.