What is workplace wellness?

My childhood dream job was to be a professional travel guide. The next Rick Steves or Anthony Bourdain. Something that would allow me to spend hours each day walking, exploring, and connecting with new people and places in meaningful and life-changing ways. Perhaps you yourself had childhood aspirations as well. An astronaut, singer, or soccer player. Whatever it was, I’m sure that neither your dream (nor mine) was to sit at an office all day feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and tired.

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As we aged, we’ve grown accustomed to what is now our reality: negative feelings, thoughts, and sore bodies as part of our professional lives, far from what we dreamed of as kids. The negative effects of constant stress on our physical and mental health lead to physical issues like stomach ulcers, headaches, and backaches. On a cognitive level, we often have trouble sleeping, and when we do, we rarely get mental rest. Our relationships with co-workers, family, and friends also suffer because of our inability to unplug even once the workday “ends.”

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Once we hit burnout, we start to feel undervalued, underpaid, and we lose our connection to our company, our job, and sometimes even our team.

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WHAT TOOK ME BY SURPRISE:

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• 51% of chief human resource officers identify employee anxiety and burnout as a top challenge for their businesses, especially since the pandemic began.
  
• 35% of employees cite an inability to unplug as the biggest challenge they face in remote work.
  
• 83% of employees are looking to their employer to help them find better balance navigating work and life in the digital age

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As a result, most employers are now realizing how hard it is for employees to shut off when it comes to their digital lives, both at work and home. Given the growing trend of employee dissatisfaction, burnout, and turnover, there needs to be a solution to help companies improve digital wellbeing.

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In attempts to address this, corporate wellness has mostly focused on mental and physical health, providing seminars and platforms to help employees reduce stress and improve their sleep, exercise, and happiness. But these “solutions” are mere band aids to the larger problem.

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In reality, most companies overlook a key opportunity when it comes to workplace wellness: upskilling employees to help them achieve balance in the digital age so they can find that sweet spot where employees are thriving and productive.

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DIGITAL WELLNESS IS THE MISSING PIECE

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According to the Digital Flourishing® model, we can define digital wellness as a state of optimal health and well-being for all people who use technology. This approach involves several dimensions: productivity, environment, communication, relationships, mental health, physical health, the quantified self, and digital citizenship.

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As with a puzzle, only by putting together all the different pieces can an individual or organization build wellness. For this reason, it should be evaluated across different areas of life so we can see how comprehensive it is and the way different areas are interconnected. This is easier to grasp in one’s own life experience. Haven’t your relationships suffered a bit during times of high productivity? Do you recall neglecting your physical health because you were glued to your devices? There’s a good chance your neck hurts right now from staring at your phone for a long time, or maybe your back is sore from spending hours in front of the computer.

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The Digital Wellness Institute believes now is the time to rethink how we do work, and that digital wellness education is what is currently missing from existing employee wellbeing offerings. With our perspective, you and your employees will be able to constantly evaluate the shifting demands of the digital world to recalibrate and find a better sense of balance.

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Creating a positive digital culture within your organization or workplace starts with assessing and addressing your digital wellness, as well as the wellness of your whole team. You can do it in less than 3 minutes by visiting https://www.digitalwellnessinstitute.com/assessment.

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For more information on ways to bring digital wellness to your workplace, email info@digitalwellnessinstitute.com

References:

Pelta, R. (April 19, 2021). FlexJobs Survey Finds Employees Want Remote Work Post-Pandemic. Flex jobs. Retrieved from: https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/flexjobs-survey-finds-employees-want-remote-work-post-pandemic/

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