Re: 8 Dimensions of Wellness - Page 12

Historylover · ‎06-08-2021

Hello @Anastasia Well, we have peanut butter in common too! It seems to be my 'go to' as it's healthy, and protein - which I so need. Baked beans on a slice of bread for lunch and I'll probably have the rest of the can for my dinner. Can't wait until my kitchen is done. I can't imagine how it will all feel.

You are very kind to take the time to respond on your phone! Others have done so too - Redhorse eg. The trials and tribulations of our lives take all forms.

The agent did say I was a very good tenant and they didn't want to lose me. I already knew I was a good tenant but it was nice to hear.

Sorry to hear your dad has terminal cancer. One good thing though - you have a relationship with him and you are so lucky there. I wish I had done with mine. Must be a very taxing time for all of you. It is sad that even such circumstances can't make discordant families pull together.

I love peonies too. They are so delicate and full of petals. I am reduced to potted succulents as they are hardy in a very challenging, hot environment with reflection from vast expanses of concrete, but feel I may branch out into some flowers soon. A neighbour has potted, purple alyssum and it looks so lovely. I have some purple violas to give some contrast to my succulents. I have had the succulents for years. Perhaps I should try to persevere with other types. Wandering through Bunnings garden department is always inspirational.

My ex-psychiatrist made me save for travel from money I squirreled away from my Disability Support Pension - after paying half of it on rent alone. It would never have been achieved when I was with my family and would never have imagined it could be achieved on a pension.

I had researched my ancestry and it made me hungry to touch down in my ancestral lands - England, Scotland and Germany. It was a most rewarding experience to challenge myself to achieve such a venture - to give myself until the next possible northern Summer - 21 months, to research everything, know how much I would spend each day, which places of interest to prioritize, which sites could be seen on the same day, how much money I could spend each day, the time tables for travel between cities of interest, accommodation costs etc. I had to plan everything meticulously as I was travelling alone - in itself, an enormous venture.

I went to England and Scotland first. WOW! WOW! WOW! London was a dream. I had researched my maps so diligently in the 21 months preceding that when I got there, I felt like a native!! Then on to beautiful Scotland. An absolutely fabulous experience - and I had achieved it all on my own merits, under extraordinary restraints. It took me a long time to come back down to earth. It was my first overseas travel experience.

Then I had a lust for travel! I started to almost immediately plan my next trip. I was going to Germany extending through Spain and France. What can I say? Travel is so enriching! Again the same financial restraints and planning. The same exhiliaration and achievements.

I came home with enough seed money to travel for 2 and a half weeks to China the following year. I have also been to Italy - Rome, Venice, Florence and Naples but not done on my pension savings on that occasion. All have been so rewarding but I am content to have seen so much of the world. Travel really is quite affordable today - regardless of your budget. As long as there are no travel bans for COVID!! It's all just a matter of prioritizing how we spend our money.

Thanks for writing. Sending best wishes.

Shaz51 · ‎07-08-2021

Today we move onto our next topic of Occupational wellness

Occupational wellness refers to the personal satisfaction and enrichment that is derived from ones work whilst maintaining a balance in our lives. Whilst we often think of occupational wellness in terms of paid employment, it can also apply to volunteer work and indeed to our caring roles.

Occupation wellness encompasses things like job satisfaction, healthy work environment, healthy work choices, job performance, productivity, efficiency, professionalism, job skills, job improvement, knowledge sharing, problem solving, accomplishment, appreciation, agency (perception of having control), companionship and pleasure.
There is an expected staff movement/ turnover in any organisation, some jobs are temporary in nature, examples include roles that are often filled by students (which can vary greatly from apprentices to medical interns, junior shop assistants to lab techs etc). There are also vacancies created by people moving up the corporate ladder or if someone was to get fired etc.

It is perhaps at looking at the reasons as to why people stay or leave jobs that gives a clearer picture as to what people see as important in relation to occupational wellness and most of this seems to revolve around various aspects of management or work culture.

Mediocre management encompasses a number of the top 10 reasons that people left their work in this article.

I have had only one new employer each time I have moved interstate with only one exception and on that occasion I left a company voluntarily because I was unhappy there. I was not really suited to the job as it was in a sales environment, however it was poor staff management decisions and the discomfort I felt with the widely known fact that the daughter of the business owner was stealing from the company that were the reasons I started looking for work elsewhere. In more recent times, following a corporate takeover, I was made redundant and subsequently became self employed with some regular contract work that an old boss helped me obtain.

In retrospect, I have really enjoyed most of the jobs I have hd and can see that the things that contributed to my job satisfaction are exactly those that are shown in the graphic – being appreciated, valued, given a variety of tasks and having had suggestions that I have offered being implemented. In more recent times and directly related to my caring role, flexibility has been an important factor.

Volunteering
Volunteer organisations have learned a lot from their paying counterparts are now providing more training or extending wellness programs to their unpaid workers. As there is no financial incentive for staying, "job satisfaction" is a key factor in keeping unpaid workers happy. There are challenges that come equally with volunteer work as they do in paid work and occupational wellness is no less important.

What if we work for ourselves or are not in paid employment?
Being self-employed along with our caring roles adds another aspect to occupational wellness and that being that the responsibility of this dimension falls squarely on ones own shoulders and it is important that we do not neglect this.

Improving our occupational wellness
How can we improve our occupational wellness? Whilst there are things that employers can and should do if they want to retain staff and maintain a happy work environment, we do need to take some responsibility for ourselves which could include taking advantage of in-house programs or doing what is necessary for us to find a more suitable job. For those of us who are self employed, who volunteer, who care, there are things that we can do too. Being self employed, some of the questions we can ask that will help us address this include - do we look at ways where we can work smarter not harder that will reduce effort or increase output and our job satisfaction? How do we go at problem solving? Do we recognise our own accomplishments? Do we ask for feedback from our clientele or the person we care for as to what we have done right or what we could do better? Are there training programs we could attend?

Finally, I will make brief comment in relation to employee wellness programs. Different to staff training or dedicated work safety programs, many companies these days provide employee wellness programs which often focus on workers physical/mental health and can include things like on-site gyms, smoking cessation programs, “parking” for push bikes, mini massages, yoga or other fitness classes, walking groups, stress management, opportunity for team participation in charity bike rides/ marathons etc and flu vaccinations. It is important to note that whilst these programs are helpful and enjoyable these can put the onus on the employee for occupational wellness and in some cases can lead to employee discrimination if they do not participate in popular programs, neither do they address the often-poor management that leads to employee dissatisfaction.