Thankfully, conversations around self-care have developed significantly in recent years, and businesses are taking it much more seriously. Self-care is about so much more than having time off to rest.
As a business owner, you owe it to yourself and your staff to make sure they’re taking the necessary steps to take care of themselves. Still not sure of the underlying benefits of promoting self-care? Here are some reasons why it is a positive asset to your company.
Avoid employee burnout
Self-care isn’t just linked to mental health, it can impact physical health too. Burnout is a genuine problem that a lot of businesses have to contend with within their teams. You can’t expect your staff to be working at maximum capacity all the time, but prioritizing self-care is a great way to get them as close to that as possible.
If your staff are physically or mentally burnt-out, they won’t be able to do their jobs properly. This will lower productivity in the long run and give you lots of mistakes to clean up down the line. In certain lines of work, burnout can be very dangerous and put your team in harm’s way. While allowing time for self-care can diminish your staff numbers for a bit, they will come back rested, rejuvenated and proactive.
Burnout can be a long term problem if not treated properly. It doesn’t actually take much to solve it though. Making moves to offer time for self-care amongst your staff is essential if you want to keep your operation moving smoothly and automatically.
Allows employees to reflect on themselves
People need time to properly understand the challenges they’re facing in their lives. This includes work. Even if you’ve tried your hardest to cultivate a positive work environment, people are naturally going to have concerns and issues. Time set aside for self-care can help make sure they deal with that properly.
Whether it’s reading, going for a walk or just thinking through the challenges facing them, self-care time will help your team learn a little more about themselves. Self-care is really about learning self-love. Life coach Orion, the founder of Orion’s Method, discusses on her Stellar Life podcast how self-love is a process of slowing down and looking inward. This is impossible to do if you’re trapped within a hectic work environment surrounded by its natural pressures.
While incredibly valuable, this time to reflect doesn’t need to be significant. You can simply offer your staff an hour a week to reflect on themselves in any way they feel fit. You’ll find yourself working with a much more holistic, self-aware and content team who understand themselves and their colleagues better.
Builds trust in you as an employer
If you’re the type of employer who doesn’t take self-care seriously, you will start to lose the respect of your team and cause them to think the grass is greener in another company. The ‘How to Build Trust in the Workplace’ survey found that trust is one of the biggest elements of building company loyalty.
Having the time to invest in self-care is a sign from your employer that you’re appreciated and considered valuable. If you make self-care a priority you will start to earn the trust of your staff. Trust is vital for building a motivated workplace. As more and more people become aware of self-care and practices of it, they will expect you as an employer to offer time for them to take care of themselves.
Don’t push back on proposals of time for self-care. To the modern workforce, you will just appear ignorant and risk ruining the working relationships you’ve worked hard to develop.
Creates a positive atmosphere
Nobody wants to work in a negative environment. It’s counterproductive to the long term stability of your business. Encouraging the practice of self-care can lead to an overall improved atmosphere where everyone works to the best of their ability as a team.
As discussed, self-care is a lot about learning to love yourself and understanding your best assets. If your staff doesn’t have the time to do that, they can dwell on their problems and eventually bring that into the workplace. Lack of self-care can breed a sense of inadequacy and make people question whether they can actually do their job.
Colleagues are often the people you see the most in your day-to-day life. If your team isn’t feeling comfortable with themselves they will struggle to connect with their colleagues. You need to create an atmosphere where people can simultaneously feel comfortable with sharing things and keeping to themselves without being judged.
It’s a cheap work perk
Work perks are becoming an increasingly popular reason why people chose one just over another. As a business owner, you’ve probably thought long and hard about the extras you can use to entice the best candidates. To a generation in touch with their mental wellbeing, a focus on self-care is actually one of the best and cheapest work perks you can provide.
Rather than spending significant amounts on days out and work parties, give your team the freedom to take time for themselves. Not only is this the kind of perk that shows existing employees and potential candidates that you care about their wellbeing, it won’t cost you anything but their daily salary.
If you do want to invest financially in your job perks you can always often self-care based incentives. Give employees the chance to experience some rest and relaxation in the form of meditation or spa days, or offer to help with finding therapy if they are struggling with deeper issues.
Self-care isn’t just a trend that will fizzle out, it’s a genuine lifestyle choice that is benefitting a significant group of people. As an employer, it’s vital you jump on this and make sure your team is practicing looking inside themselves and resolving conflict.
