How to work well

When you meet someone at a party, what’s one of the first questions that you are typically asked? “So, what do you do then?” Work is fast becoming the way in which we define ourselves. It is now answering some of the traditional questions: “Who am I?” and “How do I find meaning and purpose?” Work is no longer just about economics; it’s about identity. About fifty years ago, people had many sources of identity: religion, class, nationality, political affiliation, family roots, geographical and cultural origins and more. Today, many of these, if not all, have been superseded by work.

Work is where we get to employ most of our talents. It’s where we experience some of our greatest triumphs and failures. It’s also the basis for our standard of living. All of this means that, when work is not working for us, we become unproductive and unfulfilled.

Being unhappy at work can make you sick and being happy at work can make you healthier. This sounds like an unlikely claim at first, but it’s perfectly true. Lancaster University and Manchester Business School performed a study in 2005 involving 250,000 employees, which found that low happiness at work is a risk factor for mental health problems, including emotional burn-out, low self-esteem, anxiety and depression. The report warned that just a small drop in job satisfaction could lead to burnoutof considerable clinical importance. Mental stress symptoms like the ones found in the study also increase the risk of physical health issues including ulcers, heart problems and a weakened immune system.

So what is the answer? Well, realistically there is no magic formula; however, there are certainly measures that can be taken to address some of the health issues that occur. Learning to manage personal stress can help considerably, and a better understanding of what we can do to help ourselves is extremely important.

In today’s workplace, wellness is becoming an increasingly topical issue. With terms like stress-related illness and burnout becoming household words, many organisations are increasingly looking for ways to reduce stress and absenteeism.

Having spent the past few years conducting research across a wide range of organisations both in the UK and internationally, I am heartened to see some very responsible actions and transformations taking place. There are some excellent examples of organisations that actively promote healthy practices and raise awareness by providing programmes within the workplace to encourage healthier behaviours.

While some organisations take a more proactive approach to looking after the wellness of their people, individuals also need to be prepared to take more responsibility for themselves. It is not about massive transformations or an unrealistic metamorphosis. It is about an appreciation of the little things that we can do in our everyday lives to improve and balance our overall health. By tackling the little things, which may seem insignificant in isolation, we can stop these mounting up until they become something that we cannot cope with.

One of my key observations is that Workplace Wellness is about taking a holistic approach. It is not really enough to be physically fit and healthy in isolation of other elements that affect you…

—Excerpted with permission from How to Work Wonders by Liggy Webb; published by Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd;

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