We all need to feel well to get the best from ourselves and the more attention we pay to self-care the better we are likely to perform.  When your workforce feel good they will be more productive, happier and create a better working environment.

Promoting wellbeing and self-care is about looking after your workforce and making it possible for them to set a sensible work-life balance.  As the business owner, whilst you may work all hours yourself, it is certainly not something that will win you awards amongst your staff.  Just because you work many hours, your team needs to have time off. Refreshed staff will be happier and far more productive and they are likely to be able to adapt to any changes required of them.

Setting an example

Be purposeful in setting an example to your staff. Busy does not necessarily mean effective.  When you find yourself in a position where there is more to do than time to do it, look at what counts as high-value work, make that a priority and spend less time on work of less value.  Do not spend so much time planning that you forget to do complete the work you need to do. Setting such an example, and encouraging your staff to follow your lead could lead to a higher level of productivity, even if the time spent completing tasks is broken up into chunks.

Take a break

Again, it is so easy to get caught up with doing, that people don’t notice burnout creeping in. Those experiencing burnout could slow down, lose focus and become less productive. Before this point, it’s important to take a break, if staff find it hard to recognise this point, set them a break schedule to follow. Taking 15 minutes to go for a walk or just stop and be calm will reset the clock and they will be better for the break when they return to their work.

Working hard through changing times

When a business is experiencing times of rapid growth or change, it is so easy to forget the importance of self-care and to get lost in being busy.  Yet, this is just the time that lack of attention to your wellbeing and that of your team can cause you many difficulties. You are asking more of them, to adapt and change and use more energy and concentration than a normal day. So, it is the time to ensure that well-being and self-care is high priority.

This is where a change management expert can be the answer. Their role is to support staff dealing with change and protect their wellbeing.  If your business cares about how staff feel, they are more likely to create a caring committed working team, which will benefit the business when you need extra work or cooperation.

Forbes recently revealed the results of a study carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the University Of Southern California (USC) showing the importance of embedding wellbeing habits in your workplace. Consider how you ensure that your business looks people so that they feel inspired, included and ultimately less resistant to change.