With the world becoming one business hub, it’s business 24x7. Keeping up with increasing work hours, dealing with anxiety, and subsequent pressure can take a toll on an employee’s health. There is a pressing need to understand the role of self-care, overall wellbeing, and ways to combat burnout and stress. To achieve and maintain mental and physical wellbeing, one must focus on reaching wholesome wellness. This would help in leading a healthier and happier life.
At Prudent, we have an exclusive wellness practice that keeps in mind every basic and unique requirement. We work on clients’ needs by introducing new covers, adopting digital technology to empower them in decision making and facilitating ease of service to end-users. Our powerful in-house wellness practice has demonstrated the capability to deliver value-added programs to clients across India.
PruSper is our wellbeing brand. We partner with clients to deliver relevant wellness program design, communication strategy, implementation, and analytics to further their wellbeing objectives. Staffed by medical doctors as well as specialists, PruSper offers 3,000 wellness programs covering over 2,00,000 participants annually.
Workplaces have been designed to suit an average employee’s requirements all these years. However, the pandemic has ensured the need for dynamic, hybrid workspaces, driven by the need for mobility, remote access, security, reliable devices, and processes. Ergonomics for the hybrid workplace cannot be ignored. Home as well as office workspaces don't always conform to ergonomic principles and therefore, require adjustments to provide employees an optimal environment to work in.
With companies slowly trickling back to their office spaces, adopting a hybrid work culture, or allowing remote work options to some employees, the need to readjust to workplaces arises.
Often ergonomics is confused with the right seating posture or work-related back pain alone - but it extends beyond that.
Ergonomics is derived from two Greek words - ergon and nomoi. Ergon means work and nomoi means natural laws. Ergonomics, therefore, is the science of work and a person’s relationship to the work environment.
“Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of the interactions among human and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.”
International Ergonomics Association Executive Council, August 2000
There has been a lot of discussion around how ergonomic factors impact the workforce during the ongoing pandemic. Companies facilitated webinars to familiarise employees with best practices for creating a home office, and some businesses offered allowances to set up an ergonomically- designed home workspace for the benefit of employees. The main aspects of ergonomics include not just performance or productivity, but also comfort, safety, aesthetics, and ease of use. Thus, every physical object included in and around the workstation affects how an employee functions, thereby affecting his/her productivity, satisfaction level, and ease of work.
While the past year has been challenging in terms of finding and creating a dedicated workspace, uncomfortable seating arrangement and random placement of cables, accessories, and drawers could make you prone to injuries.
Incorporating crucial elements of ergonomics not only prevents stress-related injuries, but also helps optimise how you work.This brings us to an important point - the importance of an ergonomically-designed workspace. There are multiple factors like equipment, posture, physicality, etc. that you need to consider, in a workspace, for peak performance and good health.
Let’s dive into useful tips related to each of the factors.
The importance of ergonomics cannot be emphasised enough. Good ergonomic habits take practice. As we embrace the hybrid workplace setting, it is crucial to cover the ergonomic bases to continue to work comfortably. Although it is not going to happen overnight, you can use the tips in the article to make incremental improvements so that it becomes an integral part of how you work.
Mary was desperate to find a solution to calm her racing mind. She stressed herself out by repeatedly playing incidents in her head. It was chronic. After trying different therapies and self-help methods, she had almost given up – until a friend suggested her to try meditation. In a couple of months, the thoughts that played on loop started to fade away and Mary felt less stressed.
Can you relate to Mary? Well, stress is invisible, but we are sure the effects impact your minds and bodies. If you are constantly dealing with stress, it can affect your brain, immune system, the organs in the body - your overall health.
There’s no magic pill to relieve the ill effects of stress, but close to 500 million people all over the world practice and benefit from meditation. Thankfully, you don’t have to be a yogi to get started or enjoy the benefits of meditation.
The practice of meditation is aimed at achieving focus and improving awareness and there are different techniques you can use.
One such technique to meditate is by being mindful. Mindfulness is the ability to be completely present and aware of where we are and what we're doing, without being overly reactive.
One such technique to meditate is by being mindful. Mindfulness is the ability to be completely present and aware of where we are and what we're doing, without being overly reactive.
Practicing mindfulness meditation not only decreases stress, improves mental health, and overall happiness, but also has other advantages like:
When practiced for a while, the benefits tend to spill over and enrich every part of your life
In today's fast-paced world, it is a challenge to pause. There are multiple tasks vying for your attention, which can force you to multi-task and make it difficult to be present in the moment.
To live with purpose, your intent should be to focus on being mindful during your everyday life. Whether it’s eating, walking, or interacting with people, there are many opportunities in your daily lives to practise being aware and present.
A gradual, but obvious shift is seen as more and more people are embracing mindfulness and meditation as a way of living - from people working to improve their general well-being to companies including meditation and mindfulness sessions in employee wellness programs.
Mindfulness meditation is simple but takes deliberate practice. It’s best to take baby steps while starting out and persevere, as it gradually becomes a part of your life.
Feel like getting started? Here are a few guidelines:
Start the day with a purpose:
Resist the temptation of reaching for the phone after waking up. Instead, practice sitting in a comfortable posture after waking up and connect with the sensation of being seated. Take a few deep breaths and set the intention for the day
Take a pause:
Throughout the day, take a few pauses and slow down. Reduce worrying about situations that seem out of control, avoid overthinking, and eventually, reduce overwhelm
Try mindful eating:
Try not to multitask while eating. Pause for a moment and breathe before starting the meal. Be aware of the sensations while eating
Engage in mindful activities:
Take a moment to decide the aim of the activity. Breathe and start slow. Indulge in a single activity at a time
To aid meditation and mindfulness, there are many apps that are available today. These apps offer a range of options to help you - from breathing techniques, calming exercises, and sleep stories, to guided mindfulness and meditation techniques.
Work is what defines us as it demands most of our time, requires full use of our cognitive abilities at the highest level. Keeping up with the always-connected world is bound to result in increased stress and pressure.
What do you do? Mindfulness and meditation can help you keep stress at bay, maintain mind-body balance, reduce distractions, and eventually put you in a good state of being - thus improving our work-life integration.
Many studies have investigated the link between various health benefits associated with mindfulness and meditation, and it’s evident that there is a significant impact. The most encouraging part is that, with practice, mindfulness and meditation can be taught or learnt over a period and benefit our overall health.
Whether it’s indulging in outdoor activities, cheering the big wins, or celebrating festivities with our colleagues, we cherish those memories. If you think not being able to interact in person with buddies from work has reduced the chances of creating memorable moments, worry not – we got you covered.
Social wellness activities are a great way to connect virtually if you are working from home, or in person with safety protocols in place if you have recently moved back to your offices. Taking part in fun activities creates a deeper sense of belonging among teammates.
Here’s a list of exciting social wellness activities that you and your colleagues can indulge in right now:
Meditation & mindfulness
Practising meditation can improve focus. Mindfulness is a technique to meditate by concentrating on an object, activity, or thought. It’s known to help relieve stress, improve sleep, and enhance overall wellbeing. Meditation & mindfulness can be introduced over webinars or in an offline group session, adhering to Covid-appropriate guidelines.
Fitness sessions
Whether it is aerobics, Pilates, or Zumba - invite a fitness coach to lead a workout session physically or via videoconference. Alternatively, general fitness training, specific health sessions, and discounts on gym memberships are evergreen ways of encouraging the fitness enthusiasts.
Theme-based events
Whether it’s World Yoga Day or National Nutrition Week - events with activities that create awareness and get people started on their wellness journey is an absolute crowd favourite.
Stress-relief activities
Who’s that on the mic? A hearty laugh is probably the best cure for stress. An online stand-up comedy show can lighten up the mood. Or try something different like Improv shows, detective games, or Pictionary.
Rotational wellness teams
Fitness geeks raise your hands! Start a community of encouraging peers who motivate others to participate and create a self-sustaining system for improving wellness amongst co-workers. The wellness team can run surveys to gauge interest and collect feedback, while also facilitating webinars & workshops to nudge people towards achieving their health goals.
Rewards & recognition
In addition to celebrating big achievements, recognising important milestones like welcoming new team members, celebrating work anniversaries and birthdays, etc. can go a long way in providing a memorable experience. Physical team-building activities and collaborating on social causes are great avenues that provide a rewarding experience.
Healthy contests
Let the games begin!
There’s nothing better to encourage participation than a healthy dose of competition. It could range from a walkathon challenge or cricket tournament to an adventurous activity or talent contest - participation enhances the sense of belonging and camaraderie.
Rather than a one-time activity, create ongoing opportunities to explore fun hobbies or interests, recharge and rejuvenate, engage in healthy competition, or get fit, whenever you get a chance. Don’t wait, get started with any of the fun social wellness activities listed above and encourage your colleagues to join in and create a fun work environment!
Capturing time is probably on everyone’s wish list because lost time cannot be recovered.
Today’s no-switch-off lifestyle can keep us busy for extended periods of time. More often than not, we take on more than is humanly possible to handle - as everyone wants to get more done in less time.
If there was a perfect way to manage time and become more efficient, we would all want to master it. Unfortunately, time can’t be managed - what can be managed is how we choose to spend our time!
Planning how to utilise your time better and executing the plan is the key to achieve what you set out to, every single day.
1. Prioritise
If you don’t prioritise your tasks at hand, you will always get pulled into tasks that are urgent or gravitate towards the easier ones. Once you priroritise what you need to get done, finish the important ones right at the start of the day
5. Create helpful routines
Humans are creatures of habit, and creating a routine is the best way to get into a predictable rhythm. Planning your next workday before switching off the previous day can help you relax. Create a morning routine to help start your workday right and a night routine to help you wind down. It’s also important to schedule time to exercise, meditate, and spend quality time with your family
2. Set goals
Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals can provide you a concrete way of visualising what you want to achieve. You can create both individual and professional goals using SMART, and then break them down into the next steps required to achieve them
6. Avoid multitasking
It’s a well-established fact that multitasking is a myth. The brain cannot perform with precision more than one task that requires cognition. The pomodoro technique is a great way to focus on a single task and avoid distractions till a timer runs out. It’s a known way to improve focus. In the pomodoro technique, you set your timer to a fixed time, say 25 minutes and focus on a single task. When the timer runs out take a few minutes break before starting another timed session
3. Time batching
Time batching is one of the techniques Elon Musk uses to stay super productive. Group similar tasks in your task list into batches. Decide on a chunk of time in your day when you work on each batch and get similar tasks done at one go
7. Rewards & recognition
In addition to celebrating big achievements, recognising important milestones like welcoming new team members, celebrating work anniversaries and birthdays, etc. can go a long way in providing a memorable experience. Physical team-building activities and collaborating on social causes are great avenues that provide a rewarding experience.
4. Schedule time for yourself
We need time to recharge and rejuvenate. Although we are aware of the importance of unwinding, we don’t always make it a priority. It’s crucial to schedule time in your calendar to take time off to unwind or do something that relaxes you
Planning your day in advance ensures you channel your efforts to the most important tasks and leaves you satisfied at the end of the day. Although we all want to cram in as much as possible, there are only 24 hours in a day, so prioritising is the key.
In addition, make sure you have a balanced calendar with tasks that demand focus and attention while also leaving time to unwind, relax, and rejuvenate.
We have vast experience working as a full-service insurance broking agency.
See some of the employee benefits solutions
