Health and wellbeing at work
Creating a healthier, resilient and productive working culture
Employee wellbeing continues to rise on the corporate agenda. Over the last few years, employee mental health has been the most common focus of well-being activity, and stress continued to be one of the leading causes of short and long-term employee absence. More organisations are taking steps to identify and reduce stress.
In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted organisations, prompting them to transform their working practices on an unprecedented scale to look after people’s health, safety and wellbeing.
During the pandemic, many employees had to work from home, some utterly isolated from society. This had put additional pressure on their mental health, and their fitness levels reduced significantly as they were less physically active.
Today many companies in the UK are introducing employee wellness programmes to drive positive behaviours such as regular health checks, taking breaks, nutritional advice and increased physical activity. Embracing a preventive health model reaps the rewards in building a resilient, productive workforce. Such programmes help employees become more satisfied and motivated in their work and personal lives.
Incorporating yoga into your employees' lives can improve their mental and physical health significantly, help to reduce physical pain and workplace stress, increase productivity and decrease absenteeism.
Are you an employer concerned about the health and wellbeing of your employees? I will work with you to create tailored solutions to best suit your employee’s needs and routines. From quick 15 min anti-desk stretches, meditations and breathing exercises to relieve stress and increase focus to full-length yoga classes, wellness workshops and retreats.
This is why yoga could be a great addition to your company’s Employee wellness programme:
Increased Productivity
Working in front of a laptop for 6-8 hours every day decreases blood circulation and creates stress which causes fatigue and lowers energy. Any physical exercise, even moderate stretching, can help to increase blood circulation and make more energy. Through its dynamic movements, yoga increases blood flow throughout the body and helps to reduce fatigue. Even simple yoga exercises and stretches done for a short period can help to achieve positive results. It also helps to eliminate aches and pains. When employees are free of pain or health problems, they will be less absent, more attentive, focused and productive.
2. Reduced stress
Working long hours can be very stressful. Stress is one of the significant factors affecting employee productivity and health. Companies are facing substantial monetary losses because of the ill effect of stress. Yoga can help to combat stress and its adverse effects. It has been shown to reduce cortisol, the stress hormone.
3. Improved posture
This is one of the main reasons why people start doing yoga. Corporate employees spend most of their time sitting in chairs for long hours in front of their computers. This unnatural position can be detrimental to their health and cause back, neck and shoulder pain which could hamper their productivity. Yoga is very beneficial in helping to relieve pain through its specific stretches and poses and prevent stiffness and joint aches.
4. Increased Focus
A stressful corporate job full of deadlines, heavy workloads and endless meetings can create mental clutter, slowing down and hindering your employee's focus and decision-making ability. It can also make it harder to concentrate on the tasks at hand. Meditation and breath work, an integral part of yoga, can help clear away this mental clutter and keep the mind sharp, helping your employees be more alert, focussed and productive. Yoga also improves blood circulation in the brain, improving cognitive brain function. Moreover, meditation can teach your employees to have a still and focused mind, a handy skill in a demanding work environment. That’s why so many famous successful business leaders are practising meditation regularly.
5. Better immunity
Unlike weight training or other exercises that only focus on your body’s specific parts, yoga benefits the entire body and mind. A regular yoga routine strengthens your immune system and stimulates your lymphatic system to oust toxins from your body. It improves blood circulation, bringing oxygenated blood to the internal organs to help them function optimally. Encouraging your employees to practice yoga regularly will result in lesser sick leaves and enable them to be more productive as they will be healthier and happier.
6. Less Irritability and Aggression
Yoga relaxes the body and calms the mind. A calm person is less reactive to any negative stimulus and tends to have a more positive outlook on life, and is less likely to be involved in counterproductive work activities. Such employees function with empathy and kindness with colleagues and clients and can handle incidents and customer complaints with a calm and rational mind.
7. Increased Creativity
Practising yoga regularly can help to support and broaden creative expression. It refines inner emotions, balancing the mind, body and soul. This results in clear animation of creative expression in an employee, helping them to complete tasks creatively and be more innovative.
8. Better Digestion
Corporate employees tend to eat more fast food and move less throughout the day, which can cause digestive problems, among many others. Digestive issues can affect decision-making and decrease productivity. Specific yoga postures, such as seated twists and others, can aid in heartburn and indigestion and decrease acidity. These postures can boost metabolism and help with detoxification. Just make sure you avoid stretching immediately after meals.
9. Improved Breathing
Yoga and meditation allow people to be completely aware of their breathing. Deep breathing increases lung capacity and increases the amount of oxygen in the body which makes you feel more energetic and fuel throughout a hectic work schedule with ease. The lash of oxygen can cause problems such as nausea and tiredness. Learning to breathe correctly can be a life-changing skill.
10. Increased Confidence
Being physically fit and flexible creates more confidence in a person. Yoga makes people more flexible by improving their muscle strength and cardiovascular health. This confidence gradually transfers to all aspects of a person’s life.