Does your job ever negatively affect your mental health? Challenging projects, conflicts with co-workers or changing work duties can all affect your mental health. According to Mental Health America, 78% of workers agree that workplace stress affects their mental health. Thankfully, there are steps you can take at your job to help protect yourself. Here are five tips to improve your wellness at work.
Be Patient With Yourself
Getting back into the workforce, starting work for the first time or just changing roles at your current job are significant adjustments. Be patient. You’ll need to get used to new people, tasks and schedules. When everything happens simultaneously, it may not be easy to manage. Give yourself time to adjust to new surroundings and activities. When you’re training for a job, taking in so much information can be stressful. Try not to be hard on yourself and ask for help when needed.
Communicate With Your Supervisor
Your supervisor isn’t just the person who assigns work and approves your timesheet. Your supervisor is a source of support. For example, if you have problems at work with a particular task or interacting with a specific co-worker, communicate honestly about it with your supervisor. If you’re uncomfortable discussing issues with an immediate supervisor, reach out to someone else who can help, like a human resources staff member.
Take Breaks
If you’re having a stressful day at work, sometimes it helps just to take a break. Breaks are built into your day to ensure you don’t overdo it and work too long. Use these breaks to clear your mind, get some fresh air and relax. Bring a book to work and read for a while during your break. Take a breather in a way that helps you relax. You’ll feel refreshed and return to work, ready to start your next project. Try not to skip the breaks your boss offers you. We never dreamed of missing recess when we were kids, so let’s not neglect our well-deserved breaks as employees.
Celebrate Your Accomplishments
Focus on the tasks and projects you finished during the workday. Once you track your finished assignments, you’ll see that you achieved more than you thought! Celebrate that you completed half of the big filing project your supervisor assigned you. Give yourself credit for making most of the calls on your long call list. It can be overwhelming if you only focus on everything left to do. Recognize what you accomplished today, and it can give you positive energy to finish up tomorrow. Each step you complete gets you closer to finishing your “to-do” list.
Practice Self-Care
Self-care can include meditation, hobbies, taking a nap or journaling. Simply resting on your day off is a great way to practice self-care. Try not to pack too many busy errands and other work into your non-work days. Use some of that time for self-care. There are also resources specifically designed for employees who need assistance with their mental health. These can be found at dol.gov/mentalhealth.
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