Taking care of oneself both physically and psychologically leads to greater workplace productivity and performance. The most successful global companies have long recognised this link. Others are just starting to embrace it as pandemic lockdowns highlighted more than ever the importance wellbeing.
This article suggests 12 simple scientifically backed wellbeing practices that we can all adopt to promote wellbeing - for ourselves, for others, for our business.
Great organisations have long known the value of creating great places to work. In the war for talent and the quest to constantly improve productivity, investment in workplace wellbeing has been a feature of leading and admired companies.
So the science of wellbeing is highly relevant in our challenged world, bruised by huge uncertainty, greater than what we thought existed before the pandemic.
Here are some profoundly simple ideas to practice, all backed by substantial research in neuroscience, well-being, happiness, and positive psychology.
Compassion. Starting with self. To create a great place to work, protect your mental and physical health. Give yourself time to weep and time to laugh, time to grieve, and time to have fun.
Sleep. 7 hours a night is the clinically healthy minimum. 5 or fewer hours a night is classified as “sleep deprivation”, accelerates ageing, increases the chance of dementia, and reduces life expectancy.
Exercise. As little as 3 times 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise a week maintains physical health and improves cognitive performance.
Experiences over things. Experiences capture our attention and create memories that allow us to repeat the pleasure. Things, once acquired, quickly “lose their value”, and “get taken for granted”.
Social connections. Relationships are key to a healthy and long life. Human survival depends on our collective abilities to combine efforts in pursuit of shared goals.
Meaningful work. Clear purpose and goal clarity fuel energy and resilience, and contribute towards survival in extreme adversity.
Acts of kindness. Giving to another person boosts well-being scores for several days after the act – much longer than gifting something to ourselves.
Gratitude. Expressing gratitude to another brings that for which you are grateful back to mind, mindfully, fuels positive thinking, and extends the positive experience.
Time affluence. After a certain level of earnings, more wealth doesn’t satisfy. The freedom to do the things you enjoy, especially with the people you appreciate, satisfies you more and for longer.
Meditation and savouring the moment. Our minds wander 47% of the time that we are awake, taking us out of the “here and now”, eroding happiness and ability to be our best every moment.
Positive statements. Companies with a “Losada ratio” (positive to negative statements) between 3:1 and 15:1 flourish. Marriages with a Losada ratio above 5:1 are strong and loving.
Focus on strengths. Neurosciences have shown that playing to our strengths generates more learning, and creates more new neural connections than trying to correct or work on weaknesses
All of the above feature, to differing degrees, in the strongest national and corporate strategies.
So let me ask, which of the above practices will we adopt and champion in our organisations, for the sake of humanity, compassion, well-being, and higher economic performance?
Contact us if you’d like help to improve the well-being of your organization.
Cora Lynn Heimer Rathbone
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