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Written by Raquel Chavez-Nguyen, August 19th
What are you proactively doing to improve your employees' health and wellness since Covid-19?
I recently asked this question to other small business owners and learned some creative ways leaders are making sure their teams feel cared for during these uncertain times.
You most likely spend most of your week, and the majority of your day with your colleagues and can immediately sense when your team is stressed or feeling confident. These people are not only supporting your business, but are travelling alongside you in life and the unprecedented times the business world is seeing right now.
So how can you best support and appreciate your employees so that their health and wellness is being prioritised? We know you probably love your employees, so if you feel your colleagues are like a family, you may like to consider how love languages can be shared within the workplace.
1. Acts of Service - providing morning tea - you may like to consider offering a meal or snack on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Good food = good mood in the workplace. This is a great opportunity to provide healthy snacks to fuel their day.
2. Quality Time - going outside - we are lucky to be in this beautiful country, where almost every location has access to some beautiful scenery. Encouraging team breaks in the outdoors or even hosting meetings outside can be a simple and effective way to feel grounded during uncertain times. Enjoying the sunshine is also a lovely excuse to take a short break from the desk.
3. Gifts - reusable face masks, hand sanitiser, health supplements, and snacks - I was surprised by the number of leaders who provide high-grade health supplements to their employees AND family members. Not only may this decrease the amount you pay in sick leave, it can also improve focus and reduce stress when the immune system is optimal.
4. Words Of Affirmation - praise - use engagement surveys to find any gaps in health and wellness within the workplace or to find areas of improvement in manager-employee relationships and then use 1-1s to offer verbal support and praise to your team member. A kind email out-of-the-blue can also do wonders to brighten someone's day! A simple verbal feedback tool is PIE: Praise, Improve, Enjoy. Share with your team member some praise, area of improvement, and what you enjoyed about their project/presentation, ect.
5. Physical Touch - Yoga - Physical touch with a colleague is hardly appropriate outside of the handshake (or fist/elbow bump these days), but physical touch is an important way to calm the nervous system. Yoga in the office, either in a chair or a spare conference room, can offer a physical outlet for feelings and sensations to move through the body. Yoga can help a person self-sooth through self-massage (of the hands, arms, feet) or more traditional yoga poses like child's pose (which brings a feeling of protection to the body, connection to the earth and massages the forehead).
What are some ways you're improving health and wellness during Covid-19? How are you making your team feel more connected with themselves and others?
If you're interested in learning more about how yoga and meditation can help within the workplace - feel free to email us at hello@kanukayoga.co.nz or read more here.
