New Month, New You - Creating New Work Habits and Avoiding Burnout!

As we head into a new month, it's a good time to take stock and review habits and ways of working that no longer work for us.

We hear the phrase 'burnout' a lot at work, but what does it actually mean? Burnout can be described as chronic workplace stress that is not being successfully managed. However, The World Health Organisation (WHO) refute that it is a stress condition, and instead describe it as an 'occupational phenomenon', a syndrome with a specific health-related cause (Mental Health UK*).

Regardless of how you define it, we can all can absolutely identify with the 'always on' culture that we seem to have created and seems to be continuing with no sign of slowing down. While we can all benefit from technology, we must also recognise it can be a toxic friend too. We all have so many channels to manage and receive so many pieces of data every minute, it can feel overwhelming to keep up. And it's not just our devices holding us to randsom; so many of us have an expectation to make ourselves available and respond immediately to every request, whether it's a digital notification or a face-to-face interaction, we all feel the pressure to be available.

Whether you are growing a business as a sole trader, or have a team, no one is immune to the increasing pressure of society and work environments that demand so much from us.

The good news is, there are ways to try and manage the feelings before they get out of control.

Here are some top tips to help you:

1. Don't check your phone or emails first thing, allow yourself to start the day and process your priorities before you head straight into a million apps.

2. Try and write things down in a methodical order. Yes we said WRITE! We know some of us love using our tech to track progress but giving our eyes a rest from those screens is great for our wellbeing. Freewriting is also recognised as being good for our wellbeing.

3. Accept you can't possibly respond to every call/message/WhatsApp/social media comment or inbox message/email/Teams/Skype/Zoom all at the same time so work through methodically and let people wait - we promise nothing bad will happen!

4. Have a break from your phone/tablet/laptop at least every couple of hours. 20 minutes without tech a few times throughout the day won't kill you and you'll feel so much better for it. Ideally, get out in nature so you can give your eyes a break too.

5. Recognise how you're feeling when you're mindlessly scrolling through apps/mails/messages. If it's feelings of overwhelm, take time out to do some mindfulness activities, it will help reset your brain and you'll return with a clear head ready to tackle any challenges.

6. And remember that mindful activity is not watching the ‘big’ screen, AKA Netflix! Do something creative like gardening or knitting – you never know, there might just be a new hobby waiting for you and using a different part of your brain helps with those feelings of overwhelm.

7. As well as taking time to be mindful, consider meditation and allow feelings to come up - good or bad. If those feelings are telling you something about the pressures you are experiencing, then it's time to dig deep and open up. Find a trusted advisor to share your concerns with in order to address them and move forward.

8. It's not just technology, increasing demands of day-to-day life and busy, often uncertain, work schedules, can all take their toll. Get really honest with yourself about what causes you overwhelm and commit to small, tangible actions to move you forward.

Whether you're employed and at the mercy of a demanding boss, or running your business and need to respond to clients/customers, you may think you don't have the above options due to others' expectations - but you absolutely do! Make yourself a priority. You can only perform to your best if you're in the right frame of mind.

And if you have a team, it’s so important that you act with a duty of care towards them and look after their physical and mental wellbeing. Make sure you put in place healthy practices and lead by example. A healthy working culture that allows for open and honest two-way dialogue and is underpinned by policies, helps with engaging and supporting your workforce.

If you'd like to understand more about how Holla HR can help you develop engaging working environments or craft meaningful policies that actually work for your business and allow people to feel empowered in their approach while getting the job done, then Holla us today at info@hollahr.com to discuss.

*to read more on Burnout, head to https://www.mentalhealth-uk.org/burnout/