Occupational Wellness: Wellness at Work?
Welcome to the first week of our wellness series! This week, we will be focusing on occupational wellness. Job related stress is a common theme with many of my clients – working too hard, not feeling appreciated, not feeling fulfilled. Oftentimes, people feel stuck at jobs that leave them dissatisfied, and that “stuckness” can lead to depression, anxiety, and lack of motivation. A lot of times, I hear that because someone isn’t at their “dream job” (or dream salary) that they cannot feel fulfilled at work. I also hear a lot about work-life imbalances that impact the other areas of the wellness wheel – more on that later!
So, what is occupational wellness, really? (These days, it often feels like a myth!) Occupational wellness includes a sense of personal satisfaction in your occupation, learning from mistakes and moving forward, a sense of self-worth and self-efficacy (or, feeling like you can be effective) through job-related performance, setting career goals, exploring career or volunteer opportunities, and developing good work habits and job-related skills. The good news is, you can achieve occupational wellness without changing jobs (in most cases) – often, we simply need to change our expectations and our goals related to that job.
I consider myself very lucky – I love what I do, and 95% of the time, I like going to work (hey – nobody’s perfect!). What do we do when that’s not the case? When I was in graduate school, I worked at Old Navy – like any retail worker, I was on my feet all day long, I didn’t get paid enough, the hours were inconvenient (this early bird does not do well with mall holiday shopping hours!), and customers were not always kind. Despite all of these downsides, I was able to find a sense of occupational wellness. Here’s some of the tips for improving your occupational wellness, with examples of how they can be applied:
· Increase your knowledge and skills to accomplish your goals.
o You might be thinking, what the heck kind of knowledge/skills can retail give you that would apply to social work?! Surprisingly, a lot! I was able to ask for a small promotion, which looked great on my resume (read: leadership skills) even though the job had nothing to do with what my career goals were. I was able to learn how to deescalate tense situations (“My coupon is expired but I want to use it anyway!”) and deliver uncomfortable news (“Your credit card application got declined.”)
· Find the benefits and positives in your current occupation.
o What do you get out of the job that you have? What makes it better than having no job or having a different job? At Old Navy, I was able to make enough money to pay for the expenses related to my car and still have enough to go out to eat with friends every so often. I also got a pretty awesome employee discount!
· Write out goals and create a plan to execute them.
o If your current job isn’t your dream job (like my job at Old Navy), what are your goals and how will you get there? Create some SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time Sensitive).
o If your current job is your dream job, how do you plan to continue to grow? I’m a huge fan of continuing education, so I’m always on the lookout for trainings that will enhance my ability to help my clients, help me feel more confident, and will challenge me intellectually!
· Keep motivated towards what you want and don’t settle!
o Ask for that promotion. Ask for that raise. Ask to be sent to that training. Apply for the next job. If you get turned down, ask what you can do to improve so that next time you ask, it’ll be a yes!
So why is all of this important? For most of us, we will be working for 50+ years, 40 hours a week. That is a LARGE percentage of your time here on Earth! Occupational wellness and work-life balance promotes health, personal satisfaction, and can be financially rewarding. (You’ll see that each of the areas of wellness can be affected/improved by other areas – we can’t be ALL work and no play!)
After reading through today’s post, what are your thoughts on your own occupational wellness? Here are some questions you might ask yourself to clarify:
· What is your balance between work and relaxation?
· Do you find the work you are doing motivating and interesting?
· Are you communicating and collaborating with others?
· Do you feel inspired or challenged?
· Do you feel good at the end of the day about the work you accomplished?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, how can you make some changes or ask for support from your boss or HR department? What changes do you need to make to create balance?
References:
Adams, J. M. (2019). The Value of Worker Well-Being. Public Health Reports, 134(6), 583–586. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354919878434
Bartels, A.L., Peterson, S.J., & Reina, C.S. (2019) Understanding well-being at work: Development and validation of the eudaimonic workplace well-being scale. PLoS ONE, 14(4). doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215957
Corte, R. (2020, January 5). What Is Occupational Wellness and Why Is It Important?. Intro Wellness. Retrieved from https://introwellness.com/health/what-is-occupational-wellness/
Mattke, S., Liu, H., Caloyeras, J., Huang, C. Y., Van Busum, K. R., Khodyakov, D., & Shier, V. (2013). Workplace Wellness Programs Study: Final Report. Rand health quarterly, 3(2), 7. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4945172/
McLellan, R.K. (2017). Work, Health, And Worker Well-Being: Roles And Opportunities For Employees. Health Affairs, 36(2).
https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1150
Song, Z. & Baicker, K. (2016). Effect of a Workplace Wellness Program on Employee Health and Economic Outcomes: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA, 321(15),1491–1501. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.3307
Yeboah, T. (2021, April 23). Occupational Wellness: Returning to Work. Chapman University. Retrieved from https://blogs.chapman.edu/career/2021/04/23/occupational-wellness-returning-to-work/