Generally, when you think about the idea of ‘self-care’, you’ll usually consider how you like to spend your weekends to relax and unwind. But the fact is that when you are spending so much time at work, it’s important to ensure that you are considering your mental and physical health. With lots of challenging work, it’s pretty easy to become stressed or overstretched.

There are frequent cases of ‘burn-out’ in the modern business world; whereby employees become exhausted physically or mentally, and consequently damage their health. Fortunately, there are things that you can do during the working week to stay mentally and physically healthy.

Our Working Environment

You would be surprised how much our environments can affect our moods and help us to look after ourselves. If your working space is too messy or cluttered, this will likely contribute to a feeling of demotivation or stress. Organise your workspace so that it’s minimal, full of colour and natural light. Studies have indicated that the use of plants in a workspace is an excellent idea to contribute to positive wellbeing and to rid the air of toxins too.

Regular Breaks

When you have lots to do at work, it’s easy to get into bad habits of taking on too much overtime or not taking enough breaks. Yet the fact is, taking regular breaks is such an important self-care practice at work to stay healthy. If you are feeling unproductive, there’s nothing that works better than taking a quick break to relax and aid your productivity. As well as this, you should think about how you are using your breaks to unwind. It’s a good idea to take a yoga or gym session at lunch to increase your endorphin levels and recharge. Activities like reading, drawing or writing can also be  therapeutic and calming to aid the build-up of stress. Make sure that you have lots of good nutritious foods and drinks throughout the day that will provide the right kind of energy.

Health & Safety

Whatever your role, it’s essential that you are following health and safety practices in the workplace to look after yourself. Even if you work in an office, you still need to ensure that you have the right conditions. You’ll want ergonomic furniture and a correctly positioned computer so that you do not do yourself any damage to your body over time. Having said this, it’s also very much the responsibility of the employer to ensure safe conditions for their staff at work. If you have had an accident that wasn’t your fault, it’s a good idea to find a great personal injury lawyer who can help you to win your personal injury case. All great businesses need to ensure the correct working conditions for their employees so it’s important to seek help if you have suffered as a result of negligence.

Fatigue can also cause accidents at work due to not concentrating correctly, so lastly, ensure that you are practising lots of self-care outside of work too. Really simple things like getting enough sleep, eating right and doing relaxing activities can work wonders for how energised you will feel during the working week!