by Grace | Dec 21, 2021 | Workplace Education
We already know that exercise is good for our bodies, but there is SO many benefits for our mind and mental health too!
According to Health Direct (2020), these benefits include:
- Boosted self-esteem;
- Reduced stress;
- Reduced symptoms of depression;
- Reduced symptoms of anxiety;
- Increased alertness;
- Improved memory;
The Australian guidelines recommend adults do at least 30 minutes of moderate to intensive physical activity on most days of the week. You can measure this by using the ‘talk test’ – if you can talk but not sing during your activity you are completing moderate-intense physical activity.
On top of this, practicing mindfulness while doing exercise also reduces your stress and improves your mental health. Mindfulness is a mental state in which you are fully present in the current moment, without judgement (Very Well Fit, 2021). This may include listening to meditation while you are walking, doing yoga or Pilates or listening to music while exercise – anything that keeps your attention on the present, improving mindfulness.
According to helpguide.org (2021), other mental benefits of exercise include:
- Sharper memory and thinking;
- Improved sleep;
- Increased energy;
- Stronger resilience;
by Grace | Dec 21, 2021 | Workplace Education
According to The Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, approximately 33-45% of Australian adults receive inadequate sleep per night (less than 7 hours). Of these, 76% report frequent daytime impairment or sleep-related symptoms.
Employees who sleep 5 hours or less a night miss on average 1.5 times more days of work and have 2.2 times more productivity loss – WELCOA, 2021.
How does inadequate sleep or poor sleep quality impact the workplace?
According to WELCOA (2021) & The Sleep Foundations (2021):
- Moodiness;
- Poor concentration;
- Decreased ability to complete tasks;
- More sick days due to sleepiness;
- Increased risk of errors within the workplace;
- Decreased productivity;
- Decreased focus and attention;
- Increased likeliness to make errors or omissions;
- Impaired reaction times;
- Irritability;
- Anger;
- Vulnerability to stress;
How can you improve your job performance due to lack of sleep (The Sleep Foundation, 2021)?
- Reassess your priorities: It’s common to sacrifice sleep in order to finish work, watch television or socialise. Consider the ways you justify staying up past your bedtime and ask yourself if these activities are really worth the side affects associated with sleep deprivation;
- Find a balance: If your work schedule is causing you to lose sleep, it may be helpful to discuss this issue with your boss, or HR department;
- Improve your sleep hygiene: This is all about fostering good habits that promote restful sleep;
- Talk to your doctor: If this is an ongoing issue for you, doctors are specialised and can offer personalised tips for managing work-related fatigue.
Tips on getting a good night’s sleep:
According to The Sleep Health Foundation (2020).
- Have a regular sleep pattern: try to go to bed around the same time every night;
- Spend the right amount of time in bed: aim for 7-8 hours of sleep per night;
- Bed is for sleeping, not entertainment: iPhones, iPads or television should be avoided one you get into bed. Your mind needs to be in habit that you are in bed. Try a book instead!
- Wind down and relax before going to bed: Set aside ‘worry time’ during the day and sort out any problems well before bedtime. Try avoid using your phone or computer 1 hour before bed.
- Make your bedroom comfortable: aim for a quiet, dark room with comfortable bedding and good temperature control;
- Avoid alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes in the evening every evening;
- Don’t lie watching the clock: if you are waiting for your alarm to go off, turn it the other directions so you cannot see it;
- You may need professional help: if mood swings, excessive daytime sleepiness, restlessness sin bed, severe snoring or constantly awakening unrefreshed, chat to your doctor.
by Grace | Dec 21, 2021 | Drug & Alcohol Testing, Equipment Hire, Flu & Travel Vaccinations, Health Assessments, Skin Checks, Workplace Education
Ever wondered if it would be worth incorporating a corporate/employee wellbeing program into your workplace benefits?
According to My Short Lister (2021) and Hunter Link (2021), we’ve done the hard work for you and found the statistics and evidence!
How do employees benefit from Wellness Programs?
- 70% of employees enrolled in wellness programs have reported higher job satisfaction than those not enrolled in the company’s program;
- Employees are more likely to recommend a company that supports well-being, as a great place to work;
- 56% of employees have fewer sick days because of wellness programs;
- Employee morale is cited as the most improved (54%) metric from implementing wellness plans;
- 62% of participants in a wellness plan said that is helped them lower healthcare costs;
- Increased productivity;
- Improved engagement;
- Encourages innovation;
How employers benefit from Wellness Programs?
- Increased productivity from their employees;
- Reduced accidents and incidents;
- Reduced absenteeism;
- Increased staff engagement and retention;
- Positions your company for an employer of choice;
- 63% of employers offering wellness programs reported increased financial sustainability and growth;
- For every US dollar spent on wellness programs, the company saves $5.82 in lower employee absenteeism costs;
- About 77% of employees agree that workplace wellness programs can help reduce costs;
- Employees feel their needs are recognised and valued and goodwill and collaboration is more prominent;
What are some ideas to incorporate into your wellness program?
- Yearly health assessments, measuring heart health, diabetes screening and cholesterol screening (offered by WHS Vic);
- Yearly skin checks (offered by WHS Vic);
- Education sessions on healthy eating and physical activity in the workplace (offered by WHS Vic);
- Free flu shots for employees on site (reducing sick days and minimising the time spent away from work, offered by WHS Vic);
- Offer workshops on stress management in the workplace(offered by WHS Vic);
- Bike sharing program;
- Lunchtime walking group;
- Lunchtime meditation;
- Mental health training workshops (offered by WHS Vic);
- Resiliency and positive psychology (offered by WHS Vic);
- Corporate yoga/pilates classes;
- Team fitness challenges – ie. the team who runs the most km’s for the month wins a prize;
- Gym membership subsidies;
- Team games;
- Corporate team cooking classes;
- Healthy cooking demonstrations;
- Nutrition seminars (offered by WHS Vic);
- Men’s and Women’s Health Seminars (offered by WHS Vic);
- Corporate massages;
- Corporate retreats;
by Grace | Dec 21, 2021 | Workplace Education
Christmas, New Year and the start of January is a common time for many workplaces to take the foot off the pedal and enjoy a few weeks holidays. No doubt you have managed to relax, enjoy some family time and perhaps complete a project at home you’ve been meaning to do.
Returning to work and a routine after holidays can sometimes be less than appealing – here’s some skills and tools that will help you get motivated in no time:
- Get an early start – Prepare for your first day. Get an early night before and turn up to work a little early. This will help you get a head start on the many emails to catch up on.
- Have a small to-do list: Utilise the first part of your day to plan your day. Block out a couple of hours (or the morning) to go through and action all your emails. Make a small to-do list to achieve for the day. Make sure you include a few ‘fast wins’ to quickly tick off your list.
- Plan – Plan out as much as you can for the following week and month, before working backwards and filling in the smaller items your plan needs. It’s easier to stay motivated when you can see progress.
- Prioritise – Set your priorities and have an estimated time to complete them – try to achieve a few ‘small wins’ first and tackle a few ‘frogs’, the larger more-time consuming tasks.
- Take your breaks – Take regular breaks to clear the head – possibly treat yourself to lunch your first day back.
- Communicate with your colleagues and customers – It’s a good idea to touch base with your co-workers and boss to let them know what you’re working on. You should also connect with your best clients to let them know they are at the top of your mind but you need to catch up after holidays and will be back in touch with them soon.
by Grace | Dec 21, 2021 | Workplace Education
We all have our personal new year resolutions that typically comprise a variation of lose weight, exercise more, quit smoking.. What about your new year resolutions within your workplace? Our career goals are just as important to continually challenge ourselves so we don’t become complacent.
We’ve come up with some examples to help you create your own workplace new years resolutions:
- Upskill – challenge yourself to complete an online or face to face course which will help you develop further skills in your field and who knows, it could get you that promotion you’ve been looking for!
- Update your social media profiles – Take a look at your online profiles (eg. Linked In, company website, etc). Is the information in line with your professional image and is it up to date with your skills and expertise?
- Give credit when credit is due – Uplift your work colleagues by recognising when they do really well at work. Not only will this improve your workplace morale, it will make you and your colleague feel good and motivate you both to continue to strive for success.
- Improve your to-do lists – Your current to-do lists may entail post it notes scribbled with random information that always seem to disappear. Maybe it’s time to find a new method that works for you, such as an excel spreadsheet or a to-do note pad which you update everyday. You will feel more productive and on top of your game.
- Develop new connections – Make it your goal to network and develop new contacts within the industry this year. This may involve attending networking events or connecting with peers online – all of which will help improve your social and professional skills, give you credibility and help you create valuable relationships.
- Rethink your professional goals – Having professional goals can help you advance your career. Think about what you want to achieve in 2022 to develop your career, get a promotion or move into a different area of work.
- Pack your lunch – This not only helps you make healthier choices when meal prepping and packing your lunch every day, it also helps you save money!
- Exercise at work – We don’t mean hit the gym in your lunch break (although for some this may be possible!). We mean walk a couple of blocks at lunch or park further away from work to help you achieve the recommended 10,000 steps per day.|
- Improve your work-life balance – Sit back and assess whether your work-life is imbalanced, and prioritise the areas you would like to work on. Whether it’s spending more time with your family after work or dropping the kids at school every morning on your way to work to spend quality time with the kids. A work-life balance makes us happier and often more productive in the workplace!
- Clean out your physical and digital cabinets – Anything not needed anymore, delete or burn!
- Do something at work for YOU everyday – A walk a lunch, perhaps a coffee break for mid-morning to refresh your mind, take time out in the afternoon for 5 minutes for a quick meditation session to gather your thoughts – all these things generally make you more productive and fulfill your day-to-day needs;
by Grace | Nov 30, 2021 | Workplace Education
Whilst Christmas is weeks away, it also approaches very quickly. While you are wrapped up in your Christmas preparations, we’ve created a list of 10 things to do before the man in red comes down your chimney!
- Organise or attend your work Christmas party – Christmas parties are a great way to acknowledge all hard work put in for the year and attending them helps build relationships in a relaxed, non-working environment. You might even organise a Secret Santa to add to the excitement! Ideas include a Christmas work lunch on the waterfront, or after work drinks down Little Malop Street.
- Decorate your home/desk – Get into the Christmas spirit and put up your Christmas tree at home, and maybe some tinsel on your desk chair!
- Volunteer – Whilst you shouldn’t wait until Christmas to volunteer, Christmas is a very good time to do so! There are meal programs or soup kitchens, gift wrapping or administration roles you can do to share the Christmas spirit!
- Rather than buying expensive gifts, give a thoughtful one! A personal item that reflects the recipients tastes or interests will always be well received!
- Bake some Christmas goodies for your workplace – Mini Christmas puddings, ginger bread men, Christmas cake – share the excitement in the office!
- Make a Christmas holiday playlist – 10 points if it features Mariah Carey and Michael Buble’.. music is apart of our lives. Play it around the house or in the office.
- Wrap some presents! – Gift wrapping is one of the most exciting parts about Christmas. Offer to help your loved ones wrap any if they have a lot on their plate.
- Watch a Christmas classic – We can’t go past our favourites – ‘Home Alone’, ‘The Grinch’ and ‘Love Actually’.
- Attend your local Christmas Carols – Join your community in a night singing Christmas Carols – Geelong hold carols by Candlelight, and your smaller community hold carols nights at the local footy clubs/schools.
- Go Christmas light watching – Look up the best streets in your community and cruise the streets watching the sparkly Christmas light decorations.