Well-Being in the Workplace - Overdrive Digital

After attending BrightonSEO last week, the main and most important thing I took away from the day was how to look after my health and wellbeing within the workplace. The talks I listened to about topics such as ‘ How to get the best out of your LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms’ were great, but what’s the use in that if your mind is elsewhere?

Digital Stress

Did you know that the Digital industry is one of the most stressful sectors to work in? It’s on a par with medicine and law for stress levels. There are many reasons behind this, one being that the majority of the industry’s workforce is made up of millennials/generation Z. Having such a young workforce, who were born in or on the cusp of the digital age, enforces a lot of pre-conceptualised ideas to create perfection in every aspect of life.

Not to mention the effect that too much screen time and blue light exposure have on the individual. It’s proven that blue light exposure reduces sleep, the quality of your sleep and highly affects your REM cycle which impacts your mood and increases anxiety. These generations’ media consumption habits are also negatively affecting mental health, especially those working within digital. Constantly being on social media as well as working on social media platforms and being fed perfect pre-created content. It’s hard to not let it distort your own reality.

Digital is constantly changing. You could go to sleep an expert and wake up a novice. It’s so easy to get left behind within the world of digital. You can get caught in this vicious cycle of keeping up with constant changes, constant updates which then results in constant screen-time. Therefore again, impacting your mental health, making you feel like an imposter in your role and that you’re not good enough.

The impact of happiness on a business

Did you know that happiness…

Increases productivity by up to 20%
Increases returns by 3x
10x fewer sick days
Causes you to stay in a role twice as long
Happy companies outperform the competition by 20%

So how can you work toward promoting a happier workplace? It’s not rocket science, just a few simple ways to help increase wellbeing and productivity. No working late nights. You need a break! When doing a study on what was the top driver of an individual’s happiness, Fun and Enjoyment was in the top 2 for generation Z and millennials. Since it seems they are the ones running the digital industry, take note. Simple, things such as team days out or alcohol fridge and an early finish on a Friday can make all the difference. Even just ensuring that the individual is encouraged and supported in their role. Perhaps 1-1 personal progress catch ups once a month. 80% of people say being appreciated is the key to happiness.

Considering the brain works 31% better when in a positive state compared to a negative state why would you not want to make these small but impactful changes…