Occupational Wellness - Rediscover Your Way Home To A Stress-Free Work-Life

When it comes to wellness, people often confine the term to eating healthy and working out. The concept of wellness is holistic as it goes beyond just eating healthy and meditating.

It covers almost all the dimensions of your life. One of those dimensions is Occupational Wellness.
It’s the need to keep your sanity on track amidst the chase for survival and fitting into the square box of your employer.

Is it enough to have a decent job? Or are you content at work? Have you chosen a career you wish to pursue for the rest of your life? The questions surrounding it never seem to halt, and you end up with a job you despise.

The world we live in now, with many people working from home, has revolutionized the perspective on Occupational Wellness.

In this article, we will explore more about occupational wellness and its panorama.

What is occupational wellness?

Occupational wellness balances work and personal time that encourages personal and professional growth,often financially rewarding for most people. It is about choosing a profession that provides a feeling of purpose and productivity.

Occupational wellness is also about using your gifts to discover who you are called and what you do. It is about creating personal growth, fulfillment, and satisfaction in your work. It focuses on our search for a calling that involves exploring different career options and finding where you fit.

With the pandemic and change in the workplace scenario, people find different approaches to fulfill their calling and contribute meaningfully or strengthen their skills. Occupational wellness is now not just limited to traditional offices or jobs but a much more diverse field.

It is now more about finding meaning in work, whether paid or unpaid, to strengthen your skills and get a sense of satisfaction.
Regardless of the kind of work, the key element of occupational wellness is balancing your work with other dimensions of wellness.

Suggested read: Work-Life Balance: Why How And Everything in Between

The dimensions of wellness

The concept of wellness is comprehensive as it goes beyond the traditional dimensions of mental and physical health. All other aspects of wellness are incorporated into it.

The experience varies from person to person and is viewed more like a continuum.

Suggested read: Understanding The 9 Dimensions Of Wellness In The Workplace

Signs of occupational wellness

Overwork could cause stress and burnout if occupational wellness isn't maintained. It could affect your mental health and lead to a decrease in your overall work performance.

Even with chronic illness or lack of opportunity, you are forced to give up on professions you like and pursue one you dislike. Working under stress has become a luxury problem, and not earning income can be upsetting. In the end, you are stuck with jobs with no sense of satisfaction or achievement.

Here are some signs of what it means to have occupational wellness

A sense of purpose

To do a meaningful job which brings you a sense of satisfaction, accomplishment, or happiness.

Healthy boundaries

Learn to balance leisure time and work in a way that fits your learning style. You need to know your pace, establish boundaries, and balance work with life.

Utilizing your strengths

To work in a way that will maximize your strengths, skills, and learning abilities.
Engaging in work you find interesting and motivating.

Clear communication

You must collaborate and communicate constructively with those with whom you work.
Clear communication is the key to a healthy work-life balance and working independently.

Healthy challenge

Having wellness challenges that inspire and don’t lead to burnout is important.
When you hit the sack, you should feel proud of yourself.

Explore career beyond the square boxes

You need to explore more into careers that fit your personality.
Your work environment must allow your talents and personality to shine

Signs of poor occupational wellness

Here are some signs of poor occupational wellness-

• A sense of dread when going to work

• Being unmotivated

• Being unhappy with the career choice

• Feeling stressed out and overwhelmed with the workload.

• Poor engagement with co-workers.

Be relentless in your pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.

Suggested read: Importance Of Workplace Wellness In Your Organization

Examples of Occupational Wellness

We see occupational wellness as the ability to find satisfaction through one’s work or career. And for it to work, one must find a balance between work and home life and choose a career that aligns with their interests and skills. Continuous development in one's career and achieving professional and personal goals are parts of the process.

The purpose is to help one feel fulfilled and satisfied at work and in their career. To achieve this, it is important to maintain occupational wellness that leads to success at work.

Setting goals and working to achieve them

Setting goals will help you have a clear vision to achieve goals in your career. In order to stay focused, it is important to set goals. It is advisable to break down larger goals into smaller manageable steps and take structured action. Setting goals also inspires one to pursue and fulfill their ambitions.

A job that aligns with your vision

Finding a job that aligns with your values is important. It can lead to burnout and negatively affect your overall wellness if you are not fulfilled at work. A job that aligns with your visions is sure to make you feel inspired and challenged to deliver the best version of your work.

Time management

Effectively managing your time is the clue to achieving a work-life balance. Prioritizing tasks and not taking on work more than you can handle is important. Employees can maximize productivity by properly managing their time in prioritizing tasks, setting goals, and setting deadlines. Planned time management can reduce stress and improve work-life balance.

Managing time effectively improves productivity, job satisfaction, and overall well-being in the workplace.

Take breaks and practice self-care

It's essential to take breaks and practice self-care to prevent burnout. You can take a walk during your lunch break, meditate, or simply lean back against your work chair. Taking breaks and taking a few steps will get the blood flowing and help your body and mind relax.

Professional development opportunities

Staying updated and honing with new skills and relevant knowledge is important to capitalize on professional development opportunities. This practice will help you stay on top of your work and motivated, providing you with a sense of security and ample growth opportunities.

Personal learning style is to be considered a priority as people are more comfortable learning and understanding things in their preferred ways. While some individuals prefer group training, some like to have hands-on training. Knowing your preferred way of learning and implementing it correctly is important as this will increase your knowledge and skill set.

Appreciation and recognition

Appreciation and recognition help one feel competent and help feel fulfillment with the idea of climbing up the professional ladder. Appreciation and recognition are the biggest currency besides money that adds to an employee's well-being at work.

Work autonomy

Work autonomy regarding personal domain is very important to an employee's occupational wellness. Work autonomy refers to the level of authority and control one has over their share of work. It gives them a sense of ownership of their work.

Having work autonomy can lead to greater job satisfaction, and improved job performance as employees are able to set their own goals and make decisions about how to achieve them.

Survey and feedback

Surveys and feedback are essential tools for understanding and promoting occupational wellness. Surveys and feedback can help employers and employees identify areas of concern and gather valuable information about workplace culture, employee satisfaction, and mental health.

Our Vantage Pulse Survey tool can measure employee engagement and the overall well-being of the organization, as well as provide actionable feedback to improve and analyze overall occupational wellness. Vantage Pulse is an eNPS-based pulse survey tool that empowers HRs to manage the workforce better.

Onboarding employees on wellness tools

Onboarding employees to a wellness tool is a great example of occupational wellness. Employees suffer from a lot of wellbeings related problems ranging from a sedentary lifestyle to sitting diseases to burnout and mental health-related problems. Wellness tools help employees maintain their holistic well-being, and managers keep employees fit.

Employee wellness programs and apps provide physical health solutions, mental health solutions, and step and heart rate trackers to monitor health, diet, and financial wellness assistance.

VantageFit is a holistic wellness platform for employees that allows you to take care of your well-being and fitness from anywhere with its user-friendly mobile app. The platform’s AI-powered solutions analyze the employee database and provide insights on creating a wellness-oriented culture in their workspace.

Employee bonding and networking

Bonding, socializing, and networking are essential parts of an individual’s satisfaction. Creating connections and developing strong relationships among colleagues can create a better team spirit and a supportive network of employees who can relate to their experiences.

Communicating and collaborating are equally important aspects of occupational wellness as they lead to a positive work experience. Encouraging communications for mental or physical health and communications regarding strengths and weaknesses at work will promote a culture of support and feedback.

Harboring such cultures is an example of occupational wellness.

Room for communicating mental health

Mental health is at the core of overall occupational wellness. It affects an employee's ability to perform their job efficiently and maintain a good work-life balance. Struggles with mental health disorders hinder the ability to concentrate on work, communicate, and engage with coworkers, leading to poor job performance.

Fostering a culture of openness and communication about mental health a determines one's workplace wellness.

Financial wellbeing

Financial well-being is one of the most important aspects of occupational wellness. It refers to the state where you have the ability to manage your bills, look after your expenses, pay your debts and do your savings and plannings effectively. Financial well-being also means you are paid according to merit and not underpaid for what you bring in as an employee.

Employers can educate employees regarding financial well-being, empowering them to manage financial stress. Financial benefits such as savings plans, health insurance, and retirement plans shall be offered to employees, which enable employees to build savings and financial freedom.

How to improve occupational wellness

Changes aren’t always easy. Still, it is necessary to pursue our dream job. Building healthy mental, physical, and occupational wellness into your business or work strategies is essential if you want to succeed in a fast-paced industry.

Here are some holistic ways to improve your occupational wellness

• Make your goals a priority, and don't settle for a job that drains you.

• Explore career opportunities that will help you expand your knowledge and introduce more joy to your life.

• Maximize your true potential at work and let your personality shine through.
  Be open to change and new learning opportunities.

• Set realistic goals and boundaries. Create a broad schedule accordingly to achieve those.

• Don't rush, have patience, and let things flow naturally.

• Transform your hobbies into a freelance business or company.

• Visit a career planning center.

• Establishing connections with the people you work with.

The achievement or improvement of occupational wellness can help you feel motivated and achieve more in your work and enrich your life.

Tips for optimum occupational wellness

• Don't settle;stay motivated and work towards your goals.

• Learn and practice skills to reach your goals.

• In your current job, look for benefits and positivity.

• Take the time to take part in what you enjoy.

• Make an effort to connect with your colleagues.

• Set goals, create a plan, and try to achieve them.

• Talk to a career counselor if you feel stuck or unhappy at work.

Why is occupational wellness important?

Your attitude to work, work environment, and coworkers is the primary occupational well-being source. While this is noble on the surface, the details of day-to-day operations might cause you to lose sight of your purpose. You might become dissatisfied with your work.

Since a great number of people spend their time at work, your occupational well-being must be looked after. You must have a sense of pride and accomplishment in your profession.

It can include a career aligned with your values, interests, or skills, which brings a sense of satisfaction. It could look like setting career goals or seeking career coaching to develop a healthy work-life balance.

You can achieve it by switching off and making time for yourself and social activities.

Occupational wellness is important as it is the key element to maintain a good work-life balance. If you are dissatisfied with your work, it could drain your life. It seeks to identify the stressors and make the necessary adjustments to omit them and achieve productivity and success at work.

Five benefits of occupational wellness

Research shows that individuals who take care of themselves and incorporate occupational wellness into their lives tend to be more productive. They also have a lower rate of absenteeism and healthcare costs.

Taking occupational wellness more seriously can be beneficial for both the employer and the employee. However, this article explores five main occupational wellness benefits:

A great deal of demand exists for it

Programs or sessions for occupational wellness often reduce employee turnover, saving companies a lot of money on recruiting.

Improves productivity and performance

When you enjoy your work, you’re less likely o feel drained and more productive. You’re inclined towards motivation and hyperfocus on the job, which eventually improves job performance.

Lower stress levels and burnout

Time flies by when you establish a sense of achievement in your work. A healthy work-life balance and regular exercise to cope with the stress can lower the risk of depression.

Decrease presenteeism

When you are doing a job, you dread one that doesn’t fit into your skill box, it might divert your mind from work. Thus, leading to an increased rate of presenteeism.

Improves teamwork

They improve performance among workers as they correlate with their team’s ideas and work more efficiently. It creates a strong bond among team members and gets a sense of job satisfaction.

The secret of change is to focus all your energy not fighting the old one but on building the new ones.

Occupational wellness and making the right decisions

Occupational wellness merely means finding a balance between work and leisure. It's all about picking the right career to improve your life.

However, when choosing a job, we are frequently confronted with the most basic questions.

What is the proper career route, or is this the right choice? In a nutshell, we either wind up in the same square box or pursue things we dread.

Pursuing a profession or occupation beyond the conventional sphere is a risk we are not quite willing to take. A steady source is usually given more priority over innovative ones. It is demoralizing for many to not earn or fit into the box.

In this case, occupational wellness can help. Other dimensions of wellness are sometimes disregarded, but occupational wellness is crucial in this aspect.

It might seem daunting to choose a career or figure out what career path you want to go. But with the right idea of what you want to do and executing your ideas, efforts, and hard work into it will increase your chance of achieving it.

Meeting up with the goals and schedule can be overwhelming, which could eventually lead to burnout.

However, taking a self-assessment test will help you a great deal. It will help you figure out what you want or what your goals are.

It will also help you explore where your skills fit in, which can be a savior. Also, seeking advice for different career options can lessen your stress in figuring out what you want to do.

When shadowing or learning more about a career path you want to pursue, you want to ask yourself a few questions. These could be-

• Is this something you want to do?

• Will it cause me stress or affect my mental health?

• Will my skills and talents fit in this job?

• Am I confident in the role that I am willing to take?

• Will this job enrich my life?

• Do I have a manageable workload?

• Is the work meaningful to me?

• Do I enjoy doing it?

Once you answer these questions, you can easily set yourself a plan for the job/career path you wish to pursue. With the recent changes in the workforce, it is normal for you to take one step at a time and live out those experiences to build your decisions.

Always remember that you are not alone in this. A fist is always more powerful than just a thumb. Reaching out to friends, parents, peers, mentors can help you explore more career options than on your own.

It is okay to re-evaluate your goals and to take time to find purpose and figure out what path you want to go with.

Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.

Occupational wellness and therapy sessions

To be aware of your occupational wellness, you need to seek professional help either through wellness programs or consulting an occupational therapist. They will guide you throughout your dilemma with properly structured sessions.

They will help you develop, recover, improve, and maintain the skills needed for daily living and working.

Occupational therapy is basically about knowing your limits and strengths based on the evaluation, which determines a baseline for treating or discussing issues.
The topics discussed in these sessions could range from basic queries like which career you seek to pursue or insecurity about your future.

These sessions could also include complex queries like your role in the current downsizing of the economy or reevaluating your career choices to meet with the unconventional marketplace.

Thus, having an in-house occupational therapist can accelerate the workforce’s energy and boost employees’ wellness.

Suggested read: Top 10 Benefits Of Employee Wellness Programs

Summing it up

Be patient with yourself. Nothing in nature blooms all year.

The bottom line is that occupational wellness is the key to success in today's rat race.

Whether you like it or not, work inevitably takes up a significant portion of your life, which is why it's important to enjoy your work and maintain overall occupational wellness before rushing into a profession/career path.