Occupational wellness

As part of our continued examination of the wellness wheel and practices that support balance as a key to well-being, we will be exploring Occupational Wellness, one of the eight dimensions that contribute to overall health and wellness as noted in "Dimensions of Wellness" on Northern Kentucky University's website.

"This dimension recognizes the importance of finding satisfaction, enrichment, and a sense of purpose through work," according to Northern Kentucky University.

The occupational dimension recognizes personal satisfaction and enrichment in an individual's life via work. The main premise of occupational wellness is the concept that occupational development is associated with a person's attitude about their work and their sense of purpose. Investigating a variety of career options encourages you to pursue the most meaningful opportunities.

Occupational wellness involves all aspects of wellbeing pertaining to personal satisfaction in employment. A person who is doing what they want to do in life and is content with their work and free time is in a healthy state of occupational wellness. The benefits of occupational wellness are that it facilitates the ability to communicate values, improves the identification of workplace stressors, helps in conflict management, and supports the ability to utilize your strengths.

Occupational wellness is the ability to effectively balance work and free time in a health-promoting way, a sense of personal satisfaction and financial reward. Occupational wellness is the sense of satisfaction with your career choice. It also concerns balancing work with appropriate self-care, collaboration with coworkers, and effectively managing workplace stress. An ideal situation would involve employment that is both meaningful and financially rewarding.

Occupational wellness involves balancing work and free time, building collaborative relationships with co-workers, and managing everyday stress. By creating a healthy work-life balance, you can prevent burnout and maintain overall well-being. Creating a balance is essential for maintaining good mental health. It is important to set boundaries between work and personal life and be available for hobbies and interests outside of work.

Continuously striving toward work goals, whether it be for promotion or the successful completion of a project, can make an immense impact on job satisfaction. Staying interested and engaged in your profession is an excellent way to improve occupational wellness. It is also important to avoid burnout by maintaining work-life balance and by effective application of available stress management tools.

The benefits of occupational wellness are that it improves identification of core values, reduces workplace stress, facilitates conflict management, and enhances your ability to utilize your strengths.

• Engaging in motivating and interesting work.

• Balancing work with leisure time.

• Working in harmony with your learning style.

• Collaborating and communicating effectively with others.

• Working both independently and cooperating with co-workers.

• Feeling stimulated with your work.

• Involving yourself in productive and meaningful work.

• Keep motivated and work towards your goals.

• Increase professional knowledge and skills.

• Enjoy what you do and find meaning and purpose in your work.

• Collaborate and communicate creatively with others.

• Develop goals and create a plan for their execution.

• Look for novelty in your current job or speak to a counselor if you lack motivation.

"Our attitude and ability to effectively deal with work, school, and career goals affect wellness, performance, interactions with others, and can impact overall success," according to Washington State University's website.

If you would like to explore ways to achieve occupational wellness through effective goal setting, time management, mindfulness, and stress management techniques, please do not hesitate to contact us. At Healing Solutions Family Therapy Centers, our Licensed professional therapists are happy to assist you in achieving a better work life balance and support you in discovering ways to optimize occupational wellness.

Carla Cook is a Clinical Supervisor at Healing Solutions Family Therapy Center.