In recognition of National Wellness Month, we want to share our thoughts about self-care in the workplace.

Workforce demographics are a critical consideration. Job tasks, rewards and performance expectations are as varied as the people doing the work. A one-size-fits all approach to workplace wellness programs will not get traction because it fails to address individual needs and workforce diversity, including age, gender identity, health status, racial and ethnic background, and socio-economic factors that affect quality of life.

Wellness is muti-dimensional and means different things to different people. Consequently, WorkCare’s Wellness Solutions team has adopted these eight dimensions of wellness as the foundation for its service delivery model: financial, intellectual, occupational, social, physical, environmental, spiritual and emotional. The objective is to help employees achieve balance across all eight dimensions to optimize life satisfaction.

Self-care promotes work-life balance, facilitates social connections that are essential to well-being and helps build resilience. Employers benefit when employees have access to wellness-related resources and activities because they become less vulnerable to stress, illness and injury and feel supported in their journey.

Why Can You Do?

The COVID-19 pandemic provided valuable lessons on the importance of self-care. Now, more than ever, people realize that self-care is not selfish care, and that it’s not possible to take good care of others when their own tank is empty.

To an employer to support workforce population health and self-care, it may be necessary to first audit working conditions from a well-being perspective. There may be areas where reasonable adjustments can be made. For example, provide privacy-protected biometric screening to identify underlying health conditions; manage exposure to extreme temperatures; offer remote or flexible schedule options; facilitate access to fresh water, healthy food choices, educational materials and employee assistance programs; support friendly competitions that promote physical and mental health.

Here are some additional suggestions:

• Clearly articulate wellness program benefits so employees understand all the resources that are available to them. Keep it simple. Assist with time management so they can participate.
• Foster a positive culture around self-care and address stigma associated with mental health interventions when it arises.
• Don’t assume you know what motivates employees to change behaviors and achieve wellness goals. Ask them “What’s your why?” and about the resources they need.
• Be a role model. Recognize employees’ efforts to be physically and mentally fit for work and life.

We recently introduced the WorkCare Wellness Hub app to help employees track their self-care progress. Contact us to learn more.