Workplace Wellness Whisperer – (May 13)
Hello Workplace Wellness Seeker,
Happy Saturday!
Nearly 75 % of non-organic fresh produce sold in the U.S. contains residues of potentially harmful pesticides. Check out the list on Instagram or Facebook.
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Studies show that expressing gratitude can improve your mood. People who
regularly express gratitude for the positive things in their life are shown to be happier overall, leading to lower rates of stress and depression.
🙏Gratitude Practice🙏
What is 1 thing that went well this week for you?
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How to implement Workplace Wellness that Works?!
Over the last several decades the world has developed an epidemic of “lifestyle diseases”. Unhealthy lifestyles, such as inactivity, poor nutrition, tobacco use, and frequent alcohol consumption are driving up the prevalence of chronic disease, such as diabetes, heart disease, and pulmonary conditions. These have become a major burden, as they lead to decreased quality of life, premature death and disability, and increased health care cost. Although chronic disease was once thought to be a problem of older age groups, there is a shift toward onset during working age that adds to the economic burden, because of illness-related loss of productivity due to absence from work and reduced performance while at work.
My Workplace Wellness Calendar can guide you with some ideas for implementing your wellness strategy.
According to the RAND Employer Survey, approximately half of U.S. employers offer wellness promotion initiatives that include wellness screening activities to identify health risks and interventions to reduce risks and promote healthy lifestyles.
Preventive interventions can aim at targeting employees with risk factors for chronic disease (lifestyle management) and by improving disease control in employees who manifest chronic conditions (disease management). Lifestyle management programs are offered by 77% of employers with a wellness program and 80% offer nutrition and weight control activities such as onsite weight watch group meetings, weight loss competitions and personalized phone support from health coaches or telephonic counselling. 5 factors based on research that make a wellness program work are:
- Effective communication strategies
- Opportunity for employees to engage
- Leadership engaged at all levels
- Use of existing resources and relationship
- Continuous evaluation
Subscribe to my YouTube channel for amazing daily workplace wellness tips that can help in all factors of your wellness program.
Here’s a summary of this week’s 5 tips that can help you personally and professionally.
Read, Listen and Share!
Tip #1. How to mitigate the harmful effects of artificial “junk” lighting?
Are you aware of the harmful effects of artificial “junk” lighting?
I’m a Certified Nutritionist and a Holistic Wellness Coach so I’m always looking for amazing self-care hacks to recommend to my clients to improve their wellness.
One of my Self-Care pillars is sleep, and what I love most about VivaRays Clip’N’Go glasses, is that I get such an amazing good night sleep when I put them on at sundown. I definitely notice the difference when I’m not able to put them on because I don’t get that much needed deep and restorative sleep, I don’t wake up as energized and I’m not as focused the next day. Because my brain seems like it’s constantly in thinking mode, I had a difficult time shutting down and falling asleep, it would literally take me hours, just laying there in bed, my body was tired but my brain was not. But once I started using the VivaRays, it’s so much easier for me to fall asleep, just like that, and I feel so refreshed in the morning.
I’m so happy I came across these, they have been instrumental to taking my wellness to the next level and allowing me to perform at mu highest level. I highly recommend investing in the VivaRays because you’re making an incredible investment in your health and wellbeing.
Listen to the Self-Care Goddess Podcast “Could Dirty Electricity Be Making You Sick?” episode #73
Tip #2. Are your habits serving you or working against you?
Habits are automatic choices that influence the conscious decisions that follow. Once completed a habit can shape the actions that you take for minutes or hours afterward. According to James Clear, habits are like the entrance ramp to a highway. They lead you down a path and, before you know it, you’re speeding towards the next behaviour. How do you develop good work habits? It’s often best to start small with one or two areas you want to improve. If you try to change all of your work habits at once, you may feel overwhelmed. Focus on one area that can have a significant impact on your overall work. For example, if your disorganization is slowing you down, putting into place a few organizational strategies such as making a daily to-do list, may help you to be more productive overall. Every year The 24th of January is actually celebrated as clean your desk day. Organization is super important. Having good work habits does not mean keeping your eyes glued to your computer. It includes knowing how to take care of yourself. Getting proper sleep. Eating right. Taking time to relax and recharge. As Maya Angelou said, “Nothing will work unless you do.”
A great gratitude practice you can do is my Mindful Heart-Focused Breathing video. I hope you find this video helpful and please share with family, friends and co-workers.
Tip #3. How do you UNPLUG ON VACATION?
When you go on vacation are you going to unplug completely or check messages just once or twice a day? Establish boundaries before leaving for vacation. No matter what you decide, make sure to communicate those boundaries clearly, even following up with automatic reminders to those who text or email. You should also determine what constitutes an emergency and discuss what colleagues should do when urgent matters arise. Successful transition back to work is just as important, so spending the first day after a vacation in relative isolation is highly recommended if possible of course. Responding to emails, returning phone calls, and determining a to-do list for the rest of the week can make returning to a normal schedule more pleasant and less dreaded. And make you look forward to your next vacation.
Download my FREE morning routine here and learn how to: Increase Energy, Improve Sleep and Decrease Mood Swings.
Tip #4. Choose Your Inner Circle Wisely
According to Jim Rohn “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” So who are the 5 people you hang around with the most from the office? The world’s longest-lived people choose, or are born into, social circles that support healthy behaviours. Okinawans create moais – groups of 5 friends that commit to each other for life & support each-other throughout the years, even financially. Research shows that smoking, obesity, happiness, & even loneliness are contagious. By contrast, social networks of long-lived people favourably shape their health behaviours. All but 5 of the 263 centenarians were interviewed during the Blue Zone research belonged to a faith-based community. Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per months will add 4 to 14 years of life expectancy. At the workplace I advise you to hang out with colleagues of similar life goals and urge you to participate with the community programs organized by your HR to nurture that sense of belonging and inclusion, not only will it add years to your life but also make you more productive.
Check out my amazing ‘Vegan Meatballs with Sweet ‘n’ Sour Sauce’ recipe.
Tip #5. 80/20 Rule for Productivity
You will never believe how easy this one is to do. Hara hachi bu – the 2500 year old Confucian mantra spoken before meals in Okinawa – reminds people to stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight and gaining it. People in the Blue Zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening, and they don’t eat any more the rest of the day. In the workplace the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, is a motto which asserts that 80% of outcomes (or outputs) result from 20% of all causes (or inputs) for any given event. In business, a goal of the 80/20 rule is to identify inputs that are potentially the most productive and make them the priority. Let me guide you on how you can apply this rule at your workplace. (1) Make a list of the 10 things you spend the most time on. (2) Circle the two that truly drive your results. Do more of those. (3) Look at the others. Eliminate ruthlessly. Automate or outsource what you can. Press pause on the rest. (4) Repeat the steps
If you’re ready to leverage your workplace wellness strategy and explore how to optimize individual, team and your company’s performance, book your complimentary Workplace Wellness call here.