Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
In this episode of Workplace Wellbeing Natters, Linda and Danielle ask a very important question when it comes to improving your wellbeing: so what is wellbeing, really?
Caring for others is usually top priority for people working in the health and community services sector. So much so, that it’s often all too easy for us to neglect our own wellbeing. Workplace Wellbeing natters is the podcast that encourages us all to take care of the wellbeing of ourselves and the people we’re working with, whether that’s in primary care, mental health, disability, aged or community services, government, or any other part of the health and community services ecosystem. Hosts Linda and Danielle take you through some of their own insights from working in both the wellbeing, and health and community services sectors, and provide you with evidence-informed strategies to help foster wellbeing in your workplace.
Linda: Join us on this episode as we talk about "What is well-being, really?" We'll get you thinking about different ways to approach what well-being means for you at home and at work. And if we can improve our well-being. So spoiler alert, yes, we can. Hello and welcome to the Workplace Wellbeing Natters podcast, a podcast where we talk about well-being that works for the health and community services sector.
Linda: I'm Linda, and I am a facilitator, coach and trainer, specialising in workplace wellbeing. I'd like to acknowledge that I'm on the land of the Gunai Kurnai people and pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. My pronouns are she/her. My favourite things to do for my own well-being are walking in nature and line dancing.
Danielle: And Hello, I'm Danielle. I'd like to acknowledge that I am also on the land of the Gunai Kurnai people and my pronouns are she/her. I'm a wellbeing specialist, a psychology student and a novice pianist. And while I might not be very good at the piano, yet, playing or at least trying to is very good for my well-being.
Linda: And I've seen some of your videos, Danielle. I think you're not giving yourself enough credit.
Danielle: Definitely novice status.
Linda: So on our first episode, we started talking about why wellbeing is important in the sector and what we mean when we say wellbeing. Today, we're going to be talking about that in a little more detail.
Danielle: Yes, that's right, Linda. Last time we said that wellbeing is about feeling good and functioning well in areas of our life that are important to us, as well as making choices that are good for us. It's about how we view ourselves as a whole and includes many aspects of our lives. We also said it was more complex than this. So what did we mean by that?
Linda: Well, people talking about, thinking about, and writing about well-being has a very long history. Wellbeing science draws on areas like psychology, sociology, philosophy, economics and more. There's loads of layers, which is one of the reasons wellbeing can be so hard to define.
Danielle: So instead of giving just one definition of wellbeing, we're going to talk about the different ways to approach and understand wellbeing instead. But Linda, before we do that, what does wellbeing mean to you?
Linda: Wellbeing for me means being comfortable to be myself, to feel seen and heard by the people that are important to me, to stretch and grow, to feel like I'm contributing in a meaningful way, and that I have something new or different to learn or look forward to. We often talk about the importance of relationships for well-being, and for me, it also means time alone. So Danielle, what does wellbeing mean for you?
Danielle: I love that, Linda. I really value alone time as well, and to feel seen and heard, I think that's what we all want, right? But for me, I've thought about this a lot over the years and my answer changes all the time. But right now, for me, it's about trying to make good choices that align with my values, and that's in terms of how and with whom I spend my time and energy, and it's about valuing important relationships and treating myself and others kindly. But I have to admit, Linda, that I don't always get it right, and my wellbeing definitely takes a hit from time to time.
Linda: I hear you, Danielle. Mine too. I think it's a work in progress. So throughout our podcast, we want to highlight the voices of the sector. We asked a few people working in the sector what well-being means to them.
Danielle: And so first, that we have a social worker new to the mental health sector. They say that well-being to them means prioritizing our mental and physical health, our social connections and other key aspects of our life that are tied to our core values and that give us purpose. And next up, let's hear from Simon.
Simon: Hi, I'm Simon. I work as an organizational psychologist, coach and supervisor in Belgium. For me, wellbeing is about my ability to give my value to being able to find some way to express the things I'm passionate about.
Linda: We also asked some people what workplace well-being means to them. First up, we have Marcello Caldron, who's the current human resources team leader at Interchange Outer East. And Marcelo says "to me, workplace well-being means how the workplace contributes to your staff and, volunteers well-being in both a positive or negative way. So by understanding how the things that we do at work can affect us in both ways, we're better placed to recognize when we need to act. Having proactive and reactive strategies to keep the workplace motivated, healthy and engaged, we all recognize that these aspects or factors provide for a better workplace life and thus contribute to your overall well-being physically and mentally". We also have a snippet from Clare, who works at National Disability Services, so let's hear from her now.
Clare: Hi, I'm Clare Hambly, and I'm a Policy and Projects Officer at National Disability Services, and we are the peak body for non-government disability support providers in Australia. What does workplace wellbeing mean to me? Well, it means feeling heard, feeling supported and feeling safe so that I can do the best work that I possibly can to support the disability sector and ultimately make life better for those with disabilities. I think workplace wellbeing is incredibly important to the disability sector. People generally enter our sector to make the world a better place for people with disabilities. We know that with supportive management and teams mentoring and physically and psychologically safe work environments, we are empowered to create better outcomes in our work and this is critical to workers in our sector. I think because at the end of the day, when we slump on the couch after a long shift, we want to feel satisfied that we've made a positive contribution in the lives of the people that we supported that day. I think that is essential to our workplace wellness.
Danielle: Thanks so much to Clare, Simon, Marcello and our anonymous contributor for sharing your thoughts on wellbeing. Thank you.
Linda: So from this, we can already see that wellbeing and workplace wellbeing do mean different things, depending on who you ask. There were some commonalities in there, though, around values and things that give us purpose and passion.
Danielle: So now that we've heard some thoughts from ourselves and other people about well-being, what is it? Wellbeing exists amongst us in our homes, our families, our social networks, our communities and our workplaces. And it can be thought of in different ways, in different contexts, and may mean something different to each of us. Like we've just heard, but also depending on our culture, our age, our agenda, our values or our beliefs. Our wellbeing can also be affected by our genetics, our life experiences, the environment we live in and access to resources such as money, a home, food and clothing. And as we've already shared in our own definitions of well-being, it can change throughout our lives depending on what's happening for us at any given point in time.
Danielle: And so, Linda, we have what's known as subjective well-being, which is how we view our own experience of well-being. But we also have the objective well-being, which is how our well-being can be measured or observed by others.
Linda: There are also different interconnected areas of well-being. So these are physical, social, emotional, psychological, financial, spiritual, cognitive, mental, occupational and environmental well-being. That's a mouthful that is quite holistic. So there are also a few models or frameworks of well-being that can be helpful to understand wellbeing. Some of the well-known ones are PERMA or PERMAH and Five Ways to Wellbeing.
Danielle: So if you look at PERMA or PERMA with the H, it's based on the idea that we can develop or promote our well-being through things like positive emotions, being engaged and interested in life through relationships where we feel loved and love, and having a sense of meaning and accomplishment and through nourishing our bodies with food and exercise that makes us feel good. And of course, getting good sleep is so important.
Linda: While the Five Ways to Wellbeing is about developing connections with those around us, being active in ways that we enjoy, continuing to learn and try new things, being aware of how we're going and also by helping others as well. So from these quick highlights, we can see that what they have in common is that wellbeing can come from experiencing more positive emotions, feeling engaged and connected both to ourselves and each other, as well as something bigger, having a sense of accomplishment and looking after our own physical health in ways that are meaningful to each and every one of us.
Danielle: Wellbeing isn't just an individual thing. It's for people and in families and communities or workplaces, and people who have a high sense of well-being might be called flourishing. And so flourishing is part of what is known as the well-being continuum. Because as we all know, life happens. And so we are going to experience ups and downs or ebbs and flows with our sense of well-being as as Linda and I both recognize for ourselves already.
Linda: So if we think of a vertical line, up and down line, flourishing is at the top. And flourishing doesn't mean that there are no challenges. It's about feeling like we have the strategies, the tools or supports we need to cope with the struggles. And of course, on the other end, so down the bottom, is languishing, which I once saw referred to as feeling blah or feeling like you're walking through mud. So that's how I like to think of it now. We might feel stuck or like things are more challenging for us than they normally are.
Danielle: Yeah, that's how I feel as well. Like the walking through mud. Definitely something I relate to. And so hopefully by now, you're probably starting to understand why we said, wellbeing is a bit more complex. Because it's a lot to think about already.
Linda: It is, but wait, there's more, because well-being is also about making choices that are good for us. So ask yourself, what does living a good life mean to you? Is it about happiness or a life of meaning, or a life of interesting and perspective changing experiences?
Danielle: They all sound pretty good to me, Linda, but what we're talking about here is Hedonia, Eudaimonia and a psychologically rich life.
Linda: Yeah, so hedonia comes from experiencing enjoyment and pleasure. It's about seeking out things that bring you happiness and also avoiding pain. So maxing out the pleasure and having minimal pain. It's about asking yourself, Am I happy right now and now? And how about now? Hedonia, I think, has been described as the fast food version of happiness. It feels good in the moment, but before long you want something else. And research shows that it can involve pleasant feelings, stability, security, safety and comfort.
Danielle: Whereas Eudaimonia is about living a meaningful life, a life with purpose that aligns with your values and beliefs when you feel like you matter, and where we keep growing and striving to be the best version of ourselves, whatever that looks like for each of us. And so it's about being real, and it comes from experiencing pleasure and pain and everything in between. And it might not always be about immediate happiness or taking the easy route. Instead, it's doing things that challenge and stretch us. And while it might be harder in the moment, the research shows that this builds our well-being and our sense of self over time. And so what might this look like you? Eudaimonia could be turning the TV off or putting the phone down and studying or volunteering in the local community, or tackling the tricky work issue, or even supporting a friend or colleague who is struggling.
Linda: Absolutely. And our third element is a psychologically rich life. So this is a relatively newcomer on the block in that hedonia a eudaimonia have been around literally for centuries. Whereas the psychological rich life is a fairly new concept, it's just emerged in the last couple of years, and it's about having new or complex experiences that profoundly change your perspective. So psychologically rich experiences can include ones we plan for and look forward to. So it might be joining an interest group or studying overseas or travelling the world when we can again. Or, they can be accidental things such as illness or injury, or even an unexpected delight. So with hedonia, eudaimonia and a psychologically rich life, it might not be an "either/or", it might be more like an "and". So sometimes we need to embrace the short term moments of pleasure. Sometimes we need to focus on things that really matter. And sometimes we might need to have experiences that make us question how we see the world.
Danielle: Because whilst a happy life can be, well, happy and a meaningful life meaningful, they can also be boring or monotonous and repetitive. And we also know that life does not always go the the way we planned, that there will be challenges, frustrations and adversity.
Linda: So if you did have to choose just one Danielle, which would it be?
Danielle: Just one, just one.
Danielle: Oh, goodness, that is a tough question. I toss up, I think between eudaimonia and psychologically rich life, I've been very fortunate to have some changing, life changing perspective moments that were absolutely amazing. Oh, I don't know. I'm going to go for eudaimonia, OK? what about you, Linda?
Linda: So I have the same struggle as you in that I think eudaimonia, for me, it's important for me to think that I'm contributing, that I have a sense of meaning and purpose. But I also like the psychologically rich life. I like things that are new and different and life changing. But I think that even if I experience them, the value of experiencing them comes in then being able to use that new kind of perspective or wisdom to be able to make a contribution or a difference to others. So to me, they're very closely intertwined, I think.
Danielle: Mm hmm. Yeah, me too. That's why I have a hard time separating them. But it's also leads me or leads us to a quick note here on happiness. Sometimes wellbeing can be misunderstood as happiness and needing to be happy all the time to have wellbeing, but that's where toxic positivity can creep in.
Linda: So, you know, sure, we can have a positive outlook when things go wrong. We can be optimistic and be hopeful. And these are all great for our wellbeing if we're happy all the time. There's a chance we're not being realistic, honest or true to ourselves
Danielle: Because to be human is to hurt, sometimes dreaming big, having strong relationships. And even work can be tough sometimes because we get stressed or we might need to be vulnerable, and maybe we don't want to be. Well, people let us down. We make a mistake or face a setback when we lose someone we love. A good life does not always mean an easy life.
Linda: So true. Part of wellbeing at work is about understanding what well-being means for each of us and what we individually need for our sense of well-being. It's also about the well-being of the workplace and any home or work tension. So we've spoken a little bit already about the individual factors. So things like genetics or personality, early life events, cognitive and behavioural patterns, our mental health history, lifestyle factors and coping style. So these can be broadly thought of what we call biopsychosocial factors or biological, psychological and social factors that impact our well-being.
Danielle: And in addition to those biopsychosocial factors, the workplace can broadly fit into three groups, and that's around the design of the job, the team or the group that we're working in and the overall workplace design as well.
Linda: Yeah. So the design of the job, what do we mean by that? So that could be the demands of the job. What the role involves, which will be different depending on our specific roles. So, for example, the requirements of the role will be different to someone who works in residential services compared to someone in an acute setting or someone based in an office.
Danielle: And the job design also includes how much control we have over our work if we have the resources we need, how engaged we feel with our work and exposure to potential trauma situations as well. And again, the potential trauma looks different depending on your role. Maybe it's exposure to occupational violence, for example, someone threatening you.
Linda: So moving on to our team or group factors that could include the support or lack of support from others in the workplace, so it could be managers or co-workers. The quality of our relationships, having skilled leaders, as well as access to learning and development opportunities that we need for our role
Danielle: In the overall workplace factors could be changes in the workplace or how these changes are managed. How good work is recognized and rewarded. How fair we think our workplace is, as well as how safe we feel to be ourselves and share our ideas and if we have a positive and safe physical environment as well.
Linda: Absolutely. So we've got our individual factors, our bio psychosocial factors, and we also have our workplace factors which are broken up into the design of the job, the team or group factors, as well as the overall work factors. And then of course, there's the relationship between them, the individual factors and the workplace factors. So this is where any potential home or work conflict can fit in. So that's around how our home life and work life interact with one another and also our ability to cope when life happens. So I've heard home work conflict referred to as home work balance or home work harmony. The reality is we can't just leave our home life at the door just as much as we sometimes can't leave work at the door either.
Danielle: Linda, I recently heard home work integration as well, which is a new one to add to the list there.
Simon: Nice.
Danielle: So now we've gone through some of the different ways to approach well-being, and you might be wondering "Can I improve my well-being?" And I know we had a spoiler alert at the front. So the good news is that the research says, yes, we can improve our well-being over time, and there's lots of evidence informed strategies on how to do this.
Linda: So improving our well-being takes time and effort, and it isn't something that we can achieve overnight. So just like we need to do strengthening exercises, if we want to gain muscles, we need to actively work to build our overall wellbeing too.
Danielle: And it might not necessarily be big changes, either, though sometimes we do need to make those big choices, but often it's the little things that we do every day that make a big difference over time. So it might be taking time to be outside, whether that's in the morning or in between meetings or paying attention to what you're doing, whether that's savoring a hot cuppa or when you're talking with a friend or a colleague.
Linda: It's also about making ourselves a priority and knowing that we're worthy of taking care of ourselves as well. But it's not just up to each of us, though, either. Is it Danielle?
Danielle: No. Workplaces also have a role to play in creating an environment where people can flourish. I recently heard one of our previous professors, Lindsay Oades, say that it's not enough to teach people the skills they need to flourish. We also need to create the environments where this is possible, and I wholeheartedly agree with this.
Linda: Me too. Why is wellbeing important? So flourishing or having a good sense of well-being is important in so many different ways. It's vital for our health, our mental health and happiness. It can help us through the challenging times. Let us celebrate and appreciate the good times and a big part of our well-being comes from our relationships, from our sense of belonging and from a sense of community. So we all have a role to play in looking after ourselves and looking after each other.
Linda: And so people who work in the health and community services sector, we need to look after ourselves so we can look after other people as well.
Danielle: This is why one of the reasons why workplace wellbeing is so important for the reasons that we've just said, but also because it leads to greater job satisfaction, greater creativity, more positive workplace relationships and more broadly, it just creates a culture or an environment where we can care for each other's health and well-being.
Linda: So let's recap on what we've discussed today. Today, we shared with you a simple definition of well-being and that was about feeling good, functioning well and making choices that are good for us. But we now know it's a bit more complex than this. So we gave a quick overview of PERMAH and Five Ways to Wellbeing, and we also spoke about what makes a good life.
Danielle: We also talked about the fact that well-being does not happen overnight. It's made up of the little things we do each day, the little healthy habits we build into our life.
Linda: So now we've taken a look at the different ways to approach and think about well-being. We invite you to reflect on what well-being means for you and how this relates to what you need for your wellbeing at work.
Danielle: And we encourage you to think about what you can do to contribute to a culture where everyone cares for each other's health, safety and well-being.
Linda: We've loved connecting with you and sharing insights into what is well-being. In our show notes, we'll have any links that may support your journey towards well-being and workplace well-being.
Danielle: We'd love to know what you think have been inspired by or any questions you would like answered or contributions you would like to make to the podcast. So leave a review or contact us at matters@workplacewellbeingnatters.com.au
Linda: We look forward to next time when we will be discussing "What are mentally healthy workplaces and thriving workplaces?"
Danielle: Bye for now, thanks for joining us.
Linda: Bye for now.