When thinking about winter wellbeing at work, a winter wellbeing campaign to raise awareness to your staff can help support them. Here are some tips to share with your team to help improve their winter wellbeing.
1. Make a habit of going outside
While we may not get to enjoy many sunny days during the winter, even the small doses of natural light that these months allow can help boost your serotonin levels and improve your mood. So, try to get as much of it as you can by going out at least once a day for some fresh air and exercise.
Simply encouraging your employees to get outside around midday eliminates their stress and gives them the flexibility they need to take care of their winter wellbeing.
2. Eat well
The cold, dark days can often make us crave comfort foods that are high in carbohydrates and sugar, not to mention the ever-present temptation of festive treats. While there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself to the occasional mince pie, it’s important to maintain a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, nuts, wholegrains and fatty fish to keep you energised too.
3. Exercise
Not only does exercise benefit your physical health but it can also relieve stress and improve your mood. Even if exercising at the gym or outside isn’t a preferred option, there are plenty of ways to keep moving by joining a virtual fitness class or following a YouTube yoga workout, for example.
4. Make time for the things you like to do
It’s incredibly important to make time to do the things you enjoy. Whether it’s reading a book in the evening, playing a video game or going for an autumnal walk, scheduling in little moments like these to look forward to can make all the difference to your mood and motivation.
5. Stay in touch with others
When you’re feeling down it can be easy to cancel plans but talking to the ones you love is a powerful way to boost your well-being. Even if you’re not in the mood to do much, consider reaching out to a friend to have a coffee or simply pick up the phone for an old-fashioned chat.
Taking some extra time to check in on your team can also give that extra boost in winter, why not try a virtual coffee catch up?
6. Be clear that you are supportive
It’s important to make your staff are aware that they have support for their winter wellbeing, in doing this you show that their self-care is important to you, and your organisation. It is even more important during winter that staff are reminded that they are expected to take the breaks they are entitled to throughout the day for example.
7. Advise further help when needed
It is also important to remind your team that if they’re finding it hard to cope, help is out there. Telling someone trusted how they’re feeling can be the first step to get support, and opening up this conversation about winter wellbeing at work is important. Make sure to advise talking to a GP or a mental health support service if concerns do arise.
The next few months may be challenging, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t help ourselves to feel better. The tips above can certainly help you inject a daily dose of positivity to lighten up the wintry days of your team.
This article on winter wellbeing at work is an example of the great seasonal content in our Access Career Development platform.
You can also explore our mental health and wellbeing learning library for more eLearning on this topic.