Wellness is a paramount aspect of living your best life and regaining your identity after a substance abuse disorder. It goes beyond just not being sick and focuses on identifying your ideal well-being. Occupational wellness will be the focus in this post.
There are a number of sub-groups to wellness: physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, financial, occupational, and social. According to the World Health Organization wellness is, “”a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
Wellness is an important topic to discuss in regard to recovery for a number of reasons. First off, because it can help a person avoid relapse. Figures from the National Institute on Drug Abuse indicate forty to sixty percent of people who go into recovery will relapse within one year. The flip side to this statistic is that as much as sixty percent of people in recovery don’t relapse. Another reason wellness can be helpful is that it offers people recovering with the necessary tools to create a healthy lifestyle. Recovery is a lifelong process that takes place gradually. The further into recovery a person goes the greater their opportunity to build good habits one after another.
Occupational Wellness
Most American’s spend a significant amount of their time at work. Occupational wellness considers the level of fulfillment a person finds in their work along with feeling that their work is making a difference. In addition to this, occupational wellness looks at how well you have work-life balance in your life. This is what motivates us to prep for work that we find satisfaction or gratification in. How you perceive your work is a critical piece that determines how you pursue in your career. Wellness of this nature understands the significance there is in finding gratification, value, and meaning in the work that you do.
Since work takes up so much of our time during the week it clearly influences our feelings of well-being. Our occupations account for a significant amount of time during the week. In fact the average American working full-time spends one-third of their adult life at the job. Finding satisfaction in your occupation gives you the opportunity to share your values through participating in on-the-job projects that are enjoyable for you. Also important to note is the significance of recognizing stress from work so we’re able to utilize conflict resolutions. Conflict resolution is essential to obtaining an ideal degree of occupational wellness.
How to Improve Occupational Wellness
Dr. Brittany Carter, Wellsource Director of Health & Research, provides this explanation, “When I think of occupational wellness, I think of a well-rounded work environment where employees are free to learn and grow, with all of their basic health needs (are) being met.” When it comes to determining the most important components of choosing a career job satisfaction and fulfillment are at the top of the list. And yet, less than one-third of US citizens are pleased with their work. Here are some ideas to help you get on track to achieving occupational wellness:
- Contemplate your feelings towards your necessary work tasks. What jobs do you like and what one’s do you dread?
- Engage in volunteer opportunities as well as paid employment that you find intriguing.
- Implement appropriate conflict resolution and maintain open lines of communication in the workplace.
- Set practical objectives for your career and regularly work towards completing them.
