Office wellness ideas for International Self-Care Day
Engagement 4 minute read

Office wellness ideas for International Self-Care Day

Rise | July 23, 2019

Each year, International Self-Care Day gives people a platform to promote self-care as a vital component of health and wellness and to raise the profile of healthy lifestyle self-care programs.

The concept of self-care is recognized as a holistic approach to office wellness. For companies and organizations, International Self-Care Day provides an opportunity to enable employees to partake in the practice of looking after their own health as a vital part of their workplace health and wellness. The day-to-day office grind can be exhausting and make it hard for your team members to remember to consider their wellbeing. When practiced daily, self-care can impart a positive impact on your workforce.

Here’s some ideas for how your organization can lead the charge in guiding and empowering your people towards maintaining their own wellbeing through your office wellness initiatives.

Set the tone of the day with appreciation

Start the work week right with an exchange of appreciation amongst your team. This practice is a light and fun way of giving gratitude and spreading positivity, and thus effectively setting a good tone for the days ahead. You can choose to begin meetings with reflections on the previous week’s accomplishments or an expression of appreciation for a team member’s valuable contributions. When you recognize someone, you build and add to a foundation of trust and respect in your working relationships.

Bring your people together

Find ways for your employees to come together during the work day and get to know one another on both professional and personal levels. Coffee and tea breaks are a great way for people to break away from their desks and have good conversations. Colleagues can meet to talk about what they’re working on, their weekend plans, or their shared passions. This is why using coffee, tea, and food works as a fail-proof icebreaker! Introducing these opportunities for meaningful connection is an important part of social wellness, which is a component of self-care. This will serve to establish more harmony within the office, as well as a sense of belonging and support among your people.

Take breaks & harness energy peaks

Create time blocks throughout the week when your people can step away from their work to focus on something other than their work. This can include reading breaks or walking breaks. If everyone is encouraged to take a break at the same time, there are no expectations of having to be responsive and “on” during that set time, leading to more opportunities for mindfulness.

As well, empowering employees to work on important tasks when their energy is at its natural peak creates energy spikes that can fuel them to perform at their best. Allow your employees to build flexible schedules that enable them take breaks and to power through when it’s most optimal. This will also support them in being more self-aware at work.

Make mindfulness a priority

Make it not only accepted, but encouraged for your employees to take the time to be mindful of and focus on their mental health. Your organization can demonstrate this commitment by creating opportunities for your people to meditate and refresh their energy during work hours. 

A 15 minute meditation session can support your team members to be more present and mindful when doing their work, to be less reactive to stressful situations, and to feel centered and calm throughout the day. To engage your active team members, offer fitness options such as yoga or pilates.

International Self-Care Day is all about spreading awareness of the importance of paying and giving attention to acts of self-attention each day of the week. When your organization prioritizes self-care in your culture of office wellness, you’re sending a strong message to your people that their wellbeing at work matters. 

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