As the world starts to recover from Covid and businesses start operating at standard pace, we reflect on what actually happened in terms of labor and work-life balance while covid was on a rampage from 2020-2022. Health and Wellness is the biggest focus amongst this evolved workforce and as such the global landscape pertaining to HR, Startup Culture, and Business Ethics has taken a paradigm shift.
Despite its mostly negative effects on businesses in general, perhaps Covid’s greatest parting gift was how it helped people realize that health and wellness are the most important thing for a fulfilling life.
In the 3 year time-skip (for dramatic effects), we saw Human Resources take on a different approach in managing their workforce and perhaps looking at more mentally-supportive and sustainable ways for employees to work. We saw the rise of:
- Hybrid Workforces
- Fully Remote Workforces
- The 4-Day Workweek
As observers, perhaps the best change we observed was in how people actually started taking a break from work and reflected on the wrongdoings they have been doing mentally and physically. From not having enough time to devote to their family or hobbies, to not caring about their health and wellness.
In this article, we take a look at why “prioritizing health and wellness is the key to a fulfilling life”.
The Dilemma – Work or Health & Wellness
For so long, people were stuck in a constant battle between prioritizing either work or life. Taking a peek at the Industrial Era of the 1800s all the way to the mass consumption era that started in the 1900s, the way businesses monetized their workforce was getting employees to spend more and more time – this was overtime before overtime even became a thing.
As HR expanded and the avenues in which one could find a sustainable career kept on increasing, people started to settle down and only work for what they felt was rewarding enough. However, in white collar jobs – conglomerates, ad agencies, multi-million dollar corporations – the idea of a 40-Hour Week was almost non-existent with key staff even piling in all-nighters just to get a single campaign perfected down to the last “T”.
Work-life only ever became a thing in the last 4-5 years thanks to voices rising against the former dominating warlord that was “Hustle Culture”. Covid further emphasized why “health and wellness” should absolutely be at the top of people’s list if they want everlasting success, both in their family life and at the workplace.
And it’s a pretty simple question – would you be more productive if you slept 8 hours a day, took great care of your health, spent time with your family, and prioritized wellness? Or vice versa…
Hustle Culture almost destroyed Health & Wellness
We believe the biggest proponent in 10-12-hour a day workweeks was the so-called Hustle Culture. The false notion that spending more and more time led to more and more wealth – this notion completely blinded our rationality and sense of being. And it was even more dangerous when you had the Gary Vees and Elon Musks of this world promoting this mentality online and their cult-like following almost closing down on the few voices that opposed it.
People thought it was either “hard work” or failure. And they started giving way to bad habits that slowly damaged their health and wellness. Depression rates started increasing, temper-related issues piled up, and work-related stress even led people to commit suicide.
The increasing suicide rates were perhaps what led people to come out of the illusion of hustle mentality and instead start believing in the philosophy of “smart work over hard work”. And that worked like a charm especially amidst Covid.
The fact that life is meant to enjoy the experiences and to make the most of – the Anti-Hustle Culture Movement rose up in light of the rising depression and suicide rates. It’s safe to say that the workforce realized that they have a worth and if that worth isn’t respected, then they have all the right to rebel.
The Benefits of a Healthy Mind & Body
If you want to be productive not just at the workplace but also towards your family and towards society, embracing your health and wellness is the No. 1 Step to take.
Let’s define what “productive” means here – Being productive means that your mind is attentive to what someone else is saying or doing – whether it’s your boss briefing you on a new project or your wife trying to open up on something that’s nagging her.
Productivity doesn’t always have to be attached to output that produces monetary results. It can also be attached to emotional output like you giving advice to your wife and as a result, ridding her of anxiety, in the process.
Here are a few benefits of prioritizing health and wellness:
- It makes you more productive at work – the quality of your outputs improve
- It makes your personal bonds and relationships stronger
- It brings you more in tune with pressing health-related issues that you could heal from, proactively
Here are a few resources to get you started on your wellness journey:
https://wellbeing-project.org/9-tested-tips-to-improve-your-wellbeing-and-quality-of-life-post/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/27-health-and-nutrition-tips
The Five Habits for a Healthy Lifestyle
Conclusion
Whatever the next psychological/societal shift is, it’s paramount that we continue catering to our health and wellness as much as possible. It’s as simple as doing a 30-minute walk per day or spending 30 minutes with your family on a chore that helps you bond.
It’s not hard to imagine a world where we can be free or work-related stress and have perfect health although we are imperfect beings so it’s the way of life to give some and get some.
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AND DON’T FORGET –
“Our bodies are our gardens, our wills are our gardeners” – William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare