HELP YOUR STAFF IMPROVE THEIR MENTAL HEALTH WITH MOVEMENT
“WHEN YOU TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, YOU’RE A BETTER PERSON FOR OTHERS. WHEN YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF, YOU TREAT OTHERS BETTER.”
— SOLANGE KNOWLES.
SINCE 1949, MAY HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH.
In addition to the warm fuzzies that can happen when you celebrate your Mom or the sense of pride as you salute the brave members of our armed services with a hot dog or (healthy) burger in hand, there are things you can make part of your daily routine to improve your mental health all year long. Supporting your mental health can improve outcomes, mindset, and resilience in personal and professional settings.
While work and the workplace invoke an inherent level of stress from various sources, improved mental health is a key factor for the company’s and its employees’ overall success.
TAKING CARE OF YOUR EMPLOYEES’ MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS EVERYONE.
Just as long as the list of triggers, reactions, and types of mental health disorders, there is an equal number of options for treatment. Countless self-help and professional advice books are available for the DIY-er who wants to heal on their own time. The person who wants outside feedback can use various types of professional talk therapy, and immediate advice or direction can be utilized at specific intervals depending on the matter at hand. For a handful of individuals, medication, and supplementation may also be needed.
Recently, it has been shown that exercise and general physical activity are key components of successful healing and maintenance for some individuals and their mental health struggles. Participants in studies who used even the smallest amounts of movement could reduce and even discontinue their prescription medication use. The results are incredible! As with any other ailment or discomfort, for anyone feeling the blahs, the blues, any degree of depression, or other indications of needing a boost in their mental well-being, finding the right combination of “treatment” may take some trial and error along the way.
AS YOU GROW OLDER, YOU WILL DISCOVER THAT YOU HAVE TWO HANDS, ONE FOR HELPING YOURSELF, THE OTHER FOR HELPING OTHERS.” — MAYA ANGELOU
Benefits of simple movement to full-on strength training include improved cognitive abilities, general enjoyment of life, higher self-esteem, lowered anxiety, reduced PTSD symptoms, and more. Plus, beyond just the mental benefits, making movement part of daily life can also reduce sick days and work-related injuries.
As an employer and/or leader of your team, there are ways you can incentivize physical activity within your office setting that will benefit workflow, reduce burnout, encourage cohesiveness, and directly increase your bottom line. Try some of these ideas with your staff this month and feel the mood of the office lift as mental health is enhanced through movement.
Install standing (or even treadmill!) desks for those who would like them if your budget allows it. Alternatively, supplying exercise balls is a smaller financial commitment with just as many benefits.
Encourage standing or walking meetings. In practice, this makes decision-making faster and the duration of extraneous discussions shorter.
Deploy a company-wide step competition.
Remind associates to walk to talk to each other instead of calling, messaging, or emailing when appropriate.
Provide bicycle “parking” areas.
Hold your next staff appreciation event at a place where they can be active such as a bowling alley, or sponsor them in a recreational softball, kickball, or cornhole league.
Using the Movement 1st Wellness Platform with your team to help them enhance their active life, eating habits, and mental health all in one place has a proven track record for reaching various health and business growth goals. This includes better work/life balance, decreased use of admin staff time to manage this benefit, and elevated accuracy of employee work. Adding this platform to your list of benefits is also a fantastic item to list on your benefits package for increased interest through the recruiting process.
Book a consult with Movement 1st Wellness to find out how we can help you implement a plan to get your staff moving.
Resources:
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/infographics/mental-health-benefits-exercise-and-physical-activityhttps://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/getting-active/how-to-be-more-active-at-workhttps://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-20046495