- A look back over Allwork.Space’s most-read wellness articles during 2020.
- The pandemic has influenced fresh discussions around the importance of physical and mental health in the workplace.
- These 7 articles cover a great deal of strategies to help improve workplace wellbeing, ranging from easy tips to a complete holistic approach.
In 2020, the topic of workplace wellness was shoved into the spotlight.
And rightly so.
It may have taken a pandemic to put wellness at the top of the corporate agenda, but now that it’s there, it has opened fresh discussions around the importance of physical and mental health in the workplace.
Employers, workspace operators, managers, team members, and you: we all have a collective responsibility to look after ourselves and each other. Work is the place we spend so much of our waking time, which is why our workplaces must be healthy and human-friendly. From mental health support, to introducing wellbeing initiatives in the home office, and even transforming ‘sick’ buildings with better air ventilation, there are many different ways to create a working environment that helps people feel better, both mentally and physically.
Looking back over the most-read wellness articles of 2020, these 7 articles cover a great deal of strategies to help improve workplace wellbeing both for the short and long term.
(PS. Why 7 articles? Because it ties in nicely with our top most-read article of 2020…)
7. Mental Wellness In The Workplace: 11 Statistics You Should Know
Published: July 2019
This article was published well before Covid-19 entered our lives, which shows just how important workplace wellness has become — even before the pandemic arrived. This article focuses on the impact of work on mental health with the help of key statistics. For instance, did you know that 47% of people believe that feelings of stress and anxiety at work is normal? Furthermore, 24% of workers have taken time off because of stress — but only 41% of those reported that the absence was stress related.
6. 8 Easy And Low-Cost Workplace Wellness Ideas That Actually Make A Difference
Published: February 2020
Most companies want to create a healthy workplace — but where do you start? How can you do it cost-efficiently? From healthy eating, to office plants, to walking meetings, this article explores 8 easy ways to integrate wellness in the workplace, because starting somewhere is a million times better than not starting at all.
5. Workplace Wellness: 2 Priorities For Safer, Healthier Workspaces
Published: June 2020
At the time this article was written, organisations were figuring out how to bring staff back into the office safely, which gave new-found urgency to workplace health and wellness. Strategies focused on two key aspects of wellness: creating safer workplace environments, and supporting the mental health of workers.
4. Workplace Wellness: 5 Ways To Support Employees As They Return To The Office
Published: May 2020
While some people are eager to get back to the office, others are more hesitant. This article provides guidance on how to prepare individuals for a return to work — for instance, a video tour of the workplace can help people familiarise themselves with new Covid-safe measures. A ‘welcome back’ kit filled with wipes, sanitiser and face masks can also help boost confidence by demonstrating the lengths your company has gone to create a safe, supportive workplace.
3. What Is The Wellness Wheel? Here’s How It Can Help You Lead A Plentiful, Balanced Life
Published: September 2020
The ‘wellness wheel’ is based on the concept that there are 7 key dimensions to wellness, which are interconnected and all contribute to healthy living. The wellness wheel is a holistic model that can help individuals enrich their lives by enabling them to become aware of and make choices that will lead to a more successful existence.
2. Workplace Wellness: 3 Strategies To Take Better Breaks At Work
Published: January 2020
Research has shown that taking regular breaks during the workday can improve productivity, and prevent stress and burnout. However, few people take enough breaks during the day, which is why organisations should actively help their workforce to unplug at regular intervals. Here are 3 ways to do it.
1. How To Address The 7 Dimensions Of Wellness In The Workplace
Published: May 2019
As relevant today as it was when it was first published in May 2019, this article explores the 7 dimensions of wellness (which relates to the wellness wheel article above) and why a holistic approach to wellness is often the most successful. Most corporate and workplace wellness programs tend to focus on addressing physical and mental health, but they should cover all 7 dimensions. These are: social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, occupational, intellectual, and physical wellbeing.
That’s it!
We hope you enjoyed reading this year’s 7 most popular wellness articles. What will feature in our Wellness category in 2021? Without a doubt, the pandemic will continue to influence discussions around wellbeing, both at work and in the home office environment. There will also be fresh conversations around vaccinations, and the dilemma of whether or not people should be vaccinated before entering a workplace, and how this will be monitored.
We look forward to taking part in these discussions but above all, let’s keep wellness firmly under the spotlight, where it belongs. As Winston Churchill once said, ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste’ — and if there’s only one good thing that comes from the pandemic, it’s that business leaders are actively taking better care of their workforce, and are creating holistic programmes that promote better wellbeing for everyone, for the long-term.
