June Is Employee Wellness Month
Employee Wellness Month is observed each June, when the calendar reminds us to check in on our own health and well-being – physical, mental, emotional, social and financial. In health care, our focus is, understandably, on the patient. However, our own wellness is a crucial factor in the quality of care we bring to our work, families and friends. We're all familiar with the flight attendant's instructions to secure your own oxygen mask before assisting a child.
In both my work and personal life, I'm a planner and a list-maker. So, you can imagine how upsetting and surprising it was for me in 2020 as I was finishing my MBA in the midst of the COVID pandemic when I suddenly realized: I can't handle this! All of the stress of work, my online MBA program, my son doing middle school remotely and the overall insecurity and instability of life during a pandemic came crashing together. Suddenly, I was struggling with anxiety and panic attacks. I went to see my doctor and got medication. I also gave myself permission to slow down in school, which means that I didn't complete my degree by my original carefully-planned and orchestrated deadline (gasp!). And you know what? It all turned out OK. Sometimes we need to set aside the expectations put on us by others, or even by ourselves, in order to focus on our wellness.
During the pandemic, the Harvard Business Review published an article titled Our Brains Were Not Built for This Much Uncertainty, in which the authors talk about how uncertainty impacts our brains and "leads to decreases in motivation, focus, agility, cooperative behavior, self-control, sense of purpose and meaning, and overall well-being. In addition, threat creates significant impairments in your working memory: You can't hold as many ideas in your mind to solve problems, nor can you pull as much information from your long-term memory when you need it." If you've felt less mentally agile in the past few years, you're not alone. All of this tells us that we need to devote even more time to taking care of ourselves – whether that's getting some rest, scheduling a medical appointment that we've been putting off, strengthening a meaningful relationship, accessing available resources or simply doing something we enjoy.
At EvergreenHealth, we encourage our employees to access the resources we offer for physical, mental and financial wellness year-round. During Employee Wellness Month, we also encourage you to take some time to focus on your own well-being. Wishing you wellness this year!
