How to Improve Occupational Wellness?

Learn more about occupational wellness, the benefits of a healthy work-life balance, and how to achieve it.

What Is Occupational Wellness?

Occupational wellness is the ability to achieve a healthy balance between work and personal life in a way that promotes health, personal satisfaction, and comfort.1

Overview of Occupational Wellness

The concept of occupational wellness has been growing in recent years, which is partially due to the effect that COVID-19 has had on the workplace. Learning how to achieve this balance between our work lives and our social lives is imperative for reducing stress, increasing happiness, and encouraging a sense of satisfaction in all areas of life.

While it mainly focuses on wellness in the workplace, occupational well-being also refers simply to how we occupy our time. This could mean how you spend your time as a student, volunteer, parent, or spouse.2

Why Does Occupational Wellness Matter?

We live in a world where careers and work are often the primary measures of overall “success.” However, this may not always be healthy, as many workplaces overemphasize how employees need to spend their time or effort.

This may leave people with very little time to devote to themselves, their families and friends, or their hobbies. Learning how to cultivate wellness in all aspects of one’s life can greatly improve people’s sense of satisfaction and happiness. This, in turn, can also lead them to find work they are truly passionate about and want to engage in.

What Constitutes Success at Work?

We all interpret the idea of “success at work” differently, which means that our own personal measures of professional wellness may vary. The occupational dimension values the idea of success differently depending on which field you may be employed in as well.

Signs of Occupational Wellness

Keeping this in mind, a few signs of occupational wellness can include:

Sense of purpose: Feeling a sense of purpose with the work you engage in is a good sign of occupational wellness.
Healthy boundaries: Knowing how to maintain healthy boundaries between yourself and your employer means you are prioritizing your own wellness as well.
Utilizing your strengths: We all excel in some areas over others, and utilizing your strengths can help you gain a sense of satisfaction in your work.
Clear communication: Learning how to communicate clearly and effectively with your employer, employees, or clients can help you maintain healthy boundaries.
Healthy challenge: Who doesn’t like a little challenge? If things get too easy, we may get bored, which may lead to feeling dissatisfied at work.
Explore careers beyond the square boxes: While many careers are marketed to us at a young age as being “acceptable,” if you find work that you love that’s outside the norm, it’s better to feel happy and successful in this way.

How to Improve Occupational Wellness

If you find yourself struggling to achieve a healthy work-life balance, or simply just do not find fulfillment in your career, there are techniques to improve your occupational wellness. A few ways you can work on improving your occupational wellness and happiness are detailed below.³

Don’t Settle

It may be hard to not take the first job that comes your way, especially if you have been struggling financially. While it’s okay to work a few jobs on your way toward finding the one that works best for you, do not settle for jobs that don’t make you passionate about work.

Avoid Overworking Yourself

With today’s work culture, this one can be a bit tough, but it’s important to try not to over-work yourself. This means making sure you only take on what you are able to successfully handle and not over-exerting yourself in areas that bring you stress.

Create Authentic Connections

Creating lasting and authentic connections with your boss, co-workers, and clients can help you feel more satisfaction at work. This can also lead to social wellness in other areas as well, especially if you become friends with your co-workers.

Make Your Goals a Priority

It’s easy to fall into a routine and forget about your own goals, but it’s important to make sure your own needs and goals are being met at work.

Take a Break When Needed

We all can’t work all the time. Knowing when to take a break and get rest is imperative for staying happy and motivated at work

Benefits of Occupational Wellness

There are many benefits of occupational wellness. It not only lowers stress levels and burnout, but it can help improve your overall sense of teamwork and productivity in all areas of your life. Also, occupational wellness leads to an improved understanding of mental and emotional health.4

Find Help With Occupational Wellness at San Diego Detox

Learning how to improve employee occupational health and wellness is imperative for a more enriched life. If you or someone you know need help learning how to achieve occupational wellness, reach out to San Diego Detox today.

Our therapists are well-versed in the principles of wellness and can help you learn how to achieve a healthier work-life balance. Reach out to San Diego Detox today for more information on occupational wellness.

Signs of Poor Occupational Wellness

Just as there are signs of healthy wellness at work, there are also numerous challenges to occupational wellness. These challenges can cause you to become burnt out and stressed, which may negatively impact your relationships and mental health in other areas of your life.

Indications of Poor Occupational Wellness

Signs of poor occupational wellness may include:

Sense of dread: If you have an impending sense of dread every time you have to go to work, this is a clear sign of poor occupational wellness in the workplace.
Being unmotivated: Your career should motivate you to keep improving or learning new things. If you don’t feel this need to continue to grow, it could be an indicator of poor workplace health.
Being unhappy with your career: If you are constantly unhappy with your career, it may be time to look into changing jobs or speaking with your employer to see how you can improve your experience at work.
Feeling stressed or overwhelmed: You should not feel overly stressed or overwhelmed while at work. If you are constantly struggling with high levels of stress, it may be time to consider alternative employment.
Poor engagement with coworkers: If you do not have close connections with your coworkers, which also is a facet of social wellness, this can contribute to poor occupational wellness.