Wellness in the Workplace
How can we create a work life that is healthy and joyful?
March 5, 2012
Recently, Jane Aldrich, WLNS Anchor and JoyWorker, Mark Stiles of the Connections Television Show and Dr. Jean Morciglio, Dean of Extended Learning and Professional Studies from Lansing Community College, discussed how to increase health, wellness and happiness in the workplace.
Jane, How did you get interested in promoting workplace wellness?
I got to a point in my life where the news I would take home with me
would be so overwhelming, I would come home and be grumpy and crabby. I
was not being a very positive person at all. The first thing I would
want to do is try to numb myself out, and I think a lot of people do
that.
How did that lead to your current practice that promotes workplace
wellness?
For the last 30 years I have been doing reading, research, and reporting
that tells me that there are other and better ways to deal with stress.
What have you learned?
It's all about the mind, body, and spirit connection.
And I add a fourth, which is emotions. We now know so much more about how the body works and the
physiology and how it is directly impacted by our thoughts and our
emotions. There are studies that show the effect of seeing happy movies that make you laugh and sad
movies that make you cry and what happens to your cardiac system as a
result. Happy people are healthier people. So my focus now in life is to help people remember how to be happy.
What are some specific strategies we can use to promote health and
wellness in the workplace?
The things that help me navigate my busy life, being in the limelight,
and also having to sometimes report on negative news, is to start my
day, every day, in gratitude. Gratitude for me is just going back to
appreciating what I have, and feeling the gratefulness of that. Do
things physically... we are talking about exercise.
It can be little things daily.
Even the food you eat is important. Finding a little bit of quiet
time can also be beneficial. Open a book that inspires you, close your eyes, pray, meditate, there are
ways to learn those things.
Whatever feels right to you, still your mind, and breathe.
Find the things you are grateful for, and just listen.
What advice can you give someone who is struggling at work?
First and foremost, you have to practice what you want to experience
yourself. See the positive aspects
of everyone around you. Every
time you think about a person, only think about the good things. To me,
by appreciating people, by stating things out loud, I appreciate this
about you, I appreciated that you did this, thank you for doing that
makes the workplace more positive.
Our whole work environment would change astronomically if people
started to say thank you.
How are these strategies connected?
Appreciation, gratitude, exercise, and quiet time all work together to
form a cohesive person.
I love the quote "When you know better, you do better." ~
Maya Angelou
Jean, are there some courses at LCC that help people find a better
work/life balance?
I agree that the more you know, the more confident you are. So taking a
skill building class like a computer class can be very helpful. You
might also take some things for pure enjoyment, such as photography or
memoir writing.
Jane Aldrich is news anchor for WLNS-TV and offers workshops, presentations, and life coaching through JoyWorker. Visit her website at www.joyworker.com.
Dr. Jean Morciglio can be reached at morcigj@lcc.edu.
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