For most of us, there will be moments when we feel like we’re juggling work, life and wellness, with limited hours in the day and so much to do. These three important and interconnected parts of life are a key consideration in the modern workplace.
Keeping up with our fitness and eating well can sometimes feel impossible, yet a growing body of evidence suggests healthy eating habits and regular exercise reduce stress.
This in turn reduces feelings of anxiety and depression and improves our energy levels. This leads to greater fulfilment and therefore productivity at work.
This is proof enough that improving our work/life balance is vital, not only to individual employee wellbeing, but also for the good of the company as a whole.
A survey in 2023 revealed 87% of employees who had flexible working arrangements believed this had contributed to an overall improvement in their work/life balance. People are learning the importance of getting this right, as 94% of employees feel it is vital to their wellbeing.
The question is, how do we embark on a work and wellness regime? It can feel difficult to know where to start!
Utilise your strengths
We can’t all be an expert in every field, much as we strive to achieve this. Some areas require more practice and training.
If you already excel in some areas of your job, utilise those skills toward achieving new goals. This applies both in the office and at home.
For example, if you’re grabbing snacks and struggling to eat healthily, try making and sticking to a weekly meal plan. If you haven’t cooked for years, don’t expect to turn into a master chef overnight.
Try batch cooking some simple healthy recipes at the weekend and separate them into individual meal-sized portions to store in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to eat them.
Outsource responsibilities
If it’s impossible for you to find time to prepare meals, outsource responsibilities. There is a growing trend for healthy meal delivery services. These include some popular and convenient options to order chef-quality meals and have them delivered to your own front door. They can even work out cheaper than grocery shopping and the cost of the required energy to cook such meals at home.
There’s no excuse not to eat healthily when a restaurant-quality meal can be delivered to your home.
Boost your Vitamin D level
Known as the sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D is absorbed into our body through sunlight. It makes us feel better in general. This is why many people feel low in winter when there’s less natural sunlight. Try to get more exposure to daylight and fresh air, even in winter.
When it’s too cold to go for a run, take a walk at lunchtime. If you have a succession of meetings, suggest to colleagues a walking meeting if this is feasible. Take a walk in the park to discuss the business in hand, soaking up as much daylight as you can manage.
Vitamin D is a great performance enhancer, as it boosts energy at a cellular level and recharges your battery quickly.
Organise your day
Organise your day properly in advance. When you have a lot to do, it can seem insurmountable, and you may not know where to start. However, rather than panicking, take 15 minutes either at the start of the week, or the beginning of each day, to draw up a proper schedule. You’ll thank yourself for doing so. Leave yourself a reasonable amount of time for each task.
Also take a lunch break every day. You may feel you don’t have the time but incorporate it into your schedule. This leaves you feeling refreshed for the afternoon and avoids the dreaded 3pm lull, when productivity slumps and you feel like taking a nap.
Have a back-up plan
If your schedule is blighted by last minute issues, such as an urgent meeting, or one of your children being taken ill at school, don’t panic! Have a back-up plan in place. This may be easier said than done but try to cover all eventualities. Have a Plan B tucked away – a secondary course of action to help stave off the issues.
If the problem is home-related, have a trusted friend, parent, other family member or regular babysitter on hand to cope until you can get home.
If you can’t fit in as much exercise as you would like, take a longer walk with your dog. Take a business call on your mobile while walking outdoors.
Your mobile phone is an asset that you can use to help balance your life. It can be used as a computer, a scheduler and a workout tool as well.
Gym at office
Office gyms are a fairly modern trend and come as part and parcel of a flexible workplace.
Having a gym at the office is an absolute bonus for the busy employee, as you can incorporate a half-hour workout into your day if you’re feeling sluggish and take a shower before returning to your desk. You can almost always manage to fit in a workout, even with scheduling conflicts.
Make time to keep fit, as it will improve your mental health at work, as well as your physical health in general.
Biophilic wellness
Work from an environment that boasts biophilic design, providing a way for people to achieve their need to connect to the environment.
Working in an office with an inspiring design that uses natural colours, textures and lighting can help improve our emotional health. Some of the best biophilic designs include naturally lit rooms with large glass panels, green areas, a rooftop garden, indoor plants and natural stone surfaces.
Feeling at one with nature can improve our emotional wellbeing, even on the most hectic days.
Shared office space: London
BE Offices provides multiple services that can help improve a sense of workplace community and wellbeing.
Our thriving office space in London offers a chance to shine in our flexible workspaces, created to help teams collaborate and work productively.
Building community in the workplace is our speciality, as you’ll have access to a packed calendar of community event, whether you hire one desk, or a whole floor.
Join our ever-evolving serviced offices – we have put considerable time and investment into making our offices a place of tranquillity, sustainability and fun.
Images : © eamesBot / Shutterstock.com & © Reshetnikov_art / Shutterstock.com
