With the changing of the seasons comes many changes in our lives, and it can be hard to adjust without feeling stressed and burned out. We might not be going back to school, but every September it always seems like that “back-to-school” feeling is in the air — the temperature outside is changing, summer holidays are coming to an end, and you might just be tempted to pick up some new pencils or a fresh notebook! As we jump back into the grind, it’s important to think about our mental health and stay ahead of the game when it comes to avoiding burnout. One way to do this is to focus on workplace wellness. This involves taking a look at our work-life balance and making sure we do all we can to stay rested, refreshed, and ready to do our best at work — while still staying grounded and healthy.
Mental Health in the Workplace
Many people experience stress and that dreaded “burned out” feeling when their job or career starts to creep into their personal leisure time. That’s why it’s so important to maintain a healthy balance between your off-the-clock life and the time you spend working. Burnout can take many forms, but it could look like:
- Sleeping through your alarm clock
- Dreading going into the office or logging on in the morning
- Procrastinating completing tasks
- Drinking or eating too much
- Crying, feelings of depression, or feeling overwhelmed
- Feeling unable to “let go” and close your computer at the end of the day
Signs and symptoms like these can indicate that you’re not taking care of your mental health, and that your work life is negatively impacting your overall health and wellness. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, or to accept too much responsibility, and feel like you just can’t do it all. Or maybe you’re really not happy with your job, and you need to make a change to something that better suits you. Whatever the cause of burnout, it’s important to take steps to address it sooner rather than later to avoid affecting your overall well being.
Try these Self-Care techniques to aim for better workplace wellness and work-life balance:
- Set clear boundaries. You might have a job that requires you to be “on-call” some of the time when you’re not physically in the office, but for most positions, you can let your co-workers know that you’ll be clocking out and unavailable until the next business day. Try turning your phone notifications on silent, setting an “out of office” email message, and leaving your work at the office when you leave.
- Practice a Self-Care routine when you arrive home. Run a warm bath with fragrant oils, play your favorite music, and relax for a set amount of time when your workday is over. Or, you could set up a quiet corner to practice meditation. Cover your eyes — try using a versatile, comfortable meditation aid, like one of Ostrichpillow’s many options, to give yourself the gift of a few uninterrupted minutes to yourself. Make sure your family or partner knows that this is your time to unwind, and that you shouldn’t be disturbed. Setting this boundary time between your work and home life can help separate the two and provide you a much-needed mental break.
- Offload some of your duties. Have you taken on way too much? Have a talk with your supervisor and see if some of your responsibilities can be transferred to other coworkers. It’s great to be ambitious in your career, but if you’ve truly overextended yourself, you should be able to share the load a bit — and reduce your stress level.
Workplace wellness is an important part of our overall mental health, and though it can be tough to strike the right balance, it’s necessary to maintain a separation between our personal and professional lives. If you feel like you’ve taken on too much, or your work duties are interfering with your ability to relax in your off-hours, try the above tips to refocus, and refresh your mind, and restore balance to your life.
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