Often, we think of wellness as health, happiness, pleasure and perhaps even an island getaway!
We often get caught up in describing wellness as the collection of experiences we’ve had or our mood or feeling in a moment. There’s no doubt these are components of wellbeing but there’s actually a lot more to it.
A few headlines on wellness in Australia:
- One in five Australian employees have taken time off work due to feeling mentally unwell in the past 12 months
- Cost of poor wellbeing cost Australian workplaces approximately $10.9 billion per year
- 9 in 10 Australians believe mentally healthy workplaces are important
- 5 in 10 Australians believe their workplace is mentally Healthy
What the data tells us:
It’s simple, Australia has a hidden wellbeing epidemic. We all recognise employee wellbeing is critical to organisational success. But most importantly, we’re talking about real people – your friends and families. We all seem to agree that wellbeing is important, but at times we don’t seem to get the balance right.
Mwah. wellness framework
The mwah. wellness framework is designed to help us achieve our own (and organisation’s) optimal wellness. The framework is a holistic concept that incorporates physical, mental and social components – each are interconnected, requiring equal care and attention.
Physical
Physical wellness is about taking care of your body by getting enough exercise, eating well and ensuring you have sufficient recuperative sleep.
Mental
Mental wellness is reflected in your feeling of confidence both at work and at home. At home, good self-esteem allows you to be yourself, and positive self-talk maintains those feelings of self-worth. To experience mental wellness at work, you need to feel that you are capable of meeting your job expectations and managing your workload. You must avoid prolonged feelings of stress and find meaning in what you do (note that this feeling of meaningful work will differ for everyone).
Social
Social wellness is reflected by your feeling of belonging both at work and home, with meaningful relationships that enhance your quality of life and provide a buffer against adverse life events. At home, this means feeling connected with family and friends that can support you. At work, this means feeling included in your team and connected to your colleagues.
Creating a wellness focused culture
Mwah. has recently delivered an impactful workshop with one of our rural Western Australian partners on building a wellness focused culture.
During the session looked into personal gainers and drainers (what factors/ activities add and take away from our wellbeing), how we can harness our own biochemistry, and of course, building resilience and developing a growth mindset.
Building a wellbeing culture in the workplace takes effort and some self-awareness. How we as an individual or organisation choose to balance our wellbeing components, is completely up to us. There will be ebbs and flows, moments of tension between wellbeing components – but every person has the opportunity to influence and create their wellbeing reality – monitoring themselves but also supporting those around them.
Changing to a wellbeing culture is easier than you think so, it just requires some focus. Here’s a few tips to get you started:
- Be empathetic towards others
- Make Inclusion count
- Constantly challenge your ways of working (especially if they are just not working).
For more on the mwah. process for wellbeing, and lots more, subscribe to our website here.
