Looking for some calming activities you can do at work and home?

You’ll find them here.

Daily life can be hectic and crazy, but it doesn’t mean you should let it get to you every minute of every day. Learning some coping techniques and exploring calming activities can help you feel more centered and less reactive to daily life.

 By practicing calming activities you may:

• Improve digestion
• Slow your breathing rate
• Reduce stress hormone activity
• Minimize muscle tension and stress

Whether you’re waiting for a remote Zoom call to start, sitting alone in your cubicle, or trying to relax for the day, you’ll find the calming activities below can help you enjoy a sense of calm.

Diabetes Awareness Month is in November, a great time to discuss the topic of diabetes, risk factors, and how to control pre-diabetes.

Right now, more than 130 million people in the U.S. alone live with diabetes or pre-diabetes. Keeping it under control is essential to preventing dehydration, seizures, and other serious health issues.

For employers, this means a better understanding of the condition can prepare you to help diabetic employees as needed. It can also open up conversations around generally good health and staying well to avoid issues like prediabetes.

Read on to learn how healthy habits like yoga, cutting carbs, exercising regularly, and other habits can keep those at risk or with diabetes healthier. Plus, discover resources to share with workers on the topic of diabetes.

Here’s to starting conversations that lead to more diabetes awareness!

Wondering if you should get a standing desk? Or if you should supply your entire team with standing desks? 

Given that 15 percent of U.S. adults are physically inactive, perhaps the biggest benefit of standing desks is simply the standing part. For years, docs have told us how a sedentary lifestyle leads to issues like type 2 diabetes, obesity, and even some cancer types.

In fact, sitting too long is harming your employees more than you might think.

If you’re looking at your budget for next year, you may be considering ways to make your office and employees more comfortable. Research indicates that 65 percent of individuals who got standing desks reported an increase in productivity; 47 percent said the pain in their upper back, neck, and shoulders improved.

Ready to order new desks? This post will cover the science of standing desks, the benefits of standing desks, using one correctly, and where to get them.

Now that the “Great Resignation” is over, a new issue is hitting workplaces: quiet quitting.

Quiet quitting is when you find burned-out workers doing the bare minimum necessary to keep their jobs.

Not exactly a great way to keep morale up or production going smoothly, right?

This post offers insight for leadership to respond including cutting back on extra demands, eliminating weekend communication, getting feedback from unhappy employees, and potentially looking at firing “quitters” if they don’t pull their weight or have a good attitude most days.

Read on if you need advice on dealing with quiet quitting in your workplace.

Workplace perks. 

Everyone loves them, but just how many does an employer need to offer?

 According to a recently released 2023 Salary Guide by Robert Half, a talent solutions company, organizations are under pressure to offer higher compensation to current and new staff in an era of quiet quitting and on the heels of the “Great Resignation.”  

Beyond adjusting pay, how else can employers attract and keep the best and brightest in a competitive hiring market?

Going into 2023, employers should know:

• Wellness programs & mental health perks are a must
• Salaries are trending upward
• Workers want raises

This post will share insights to the survey and how employers can continue to impress in a market where there are more job openings than job seekers.

Are you and your employees getting burned out on your workplace wellness programs?

When leadership and team members aren’t getting the right support from wellness programs, change is the only way to improve it. The Great Resignation has proven that mediocre jobs with so-so health benefits don’t cut it anymore. People are willing to leave jobs that leave them feeling too stressed and unhappy.

A recent survey uncovered evidence of just how true that is. Deloitte connected with independent research firm Workplace Intelligence and surveyed 2,100 employees and C-level execs across four countries: the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

The most shocking aspect of the survey? Nearly 70% of C-suite individuals surveyed are seriously considering quitting for a job that better supports their well-being. You know it’s rough when even the boss wants to quit.

Now is an excellent time to focus on keeping employees productive and engaged and focused on their wellbeing — especially with the rise in costs for everything, including healthcare. Take time to reevaluate ways to keep workplace wellness programs relevant and keep workers (and leaders) on board.

Below, we share how to keep the spirit of wellness alive in your workplace.

How good are you at knowing how to handle stressful situations at work?

Learning how to appropriately manage your workplace stress can make all the difference when it comes to your health, mental state, and productivity. No matter how much you love your job or what you do, there is always going to be a certain amount of stress that comes with it.

In the workplace, stress can come at you from all angles. Whether it’s an angry client, an awkward colleague conversation, or making a mistake on a big project, mounting stress that’s not taken care of can lead to physical and mental health concerns.

If you’re looking for some better ways to handle stress, we’ve got your back.

Check out these tips below for tackling stressful situations at work.

Employee wellbeing — how is it faring in most companies these days?

This won’t be a shocker for most: Employees are unhappy. As a result, their wellbeing is suffering, too. Overall, globally, unhappiness has been on the rise for the last decade.

Recent Gallup research found that emotionally, the second year of the pandemic was more draining than the first one. Stress, worry, and sadness plagued more people and set new records in 2021 for Gallup’s Negative Experience Index survey. Unfortunately, those negative feelings leak over into the work experience, too.

So what can you do to help improve employee wellbeing? Here’s a look at some simple ways to take charge of creating a healthier and happier workspace for your team:

Workplace distractions.

These pesky diversions in the workplace can prevent productive workflows and even create unhealthy behaviors in some cases. From cell phone usage to clutter and gossip to last-minute meetings, distractions galore exist if you let them. Without a doubt, these distractions lead to productivity loss, and, in some cases,  poor health.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to avoid or manage distractions that cost you time and energy.

Below, we cover the top unhealthy distractions and how employers can help workers avoid these time-sucking traps.

What do employees want?

By the looks of it, a four-day workweek is at the top of the list.

More than 90% of U.S. workers claim they’d want four-day workweeks, according to a January Qualtrics survey. Gone are the days when a traditional 9-to-5 worked for both employees and employers. Workers are shifting the way they want to work and if workplaces want to keep them happy, then dangling four-day workweek benefits may just work.

Below, discover the benefits of a 4-day workweek, studies on how it’s worked out in various countries so far, and the pros and cons of doing so in your own workplace.