Embrace some Danish wellbeing to see you through the Christmas chaos

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As the festive season ramps up to fever pitch and we’re all frantically trying to organise our family, holiday, work and home, there doesn’t seem to be much time left to do anything much else apart from sleep.

But it’s exactly at this point when the stresses and pressures of life are at their highest, that the Danes focus on finding moments of ‘hygge’ (pronounced hoo-gah) to ensure that they enjoy some calm comfort amidst the tumult.

A sense of wellbeing

Hygge: wellbeing, comfort, cosiness and enjoying the simple pleasures in life.

The exact meaning of hygge is almost impossible to determine, but is generally described as wellbeing, comfort, cosiness and enjoying the simple pleasures in life. Enjoying a hygge moment could be indulging in a quiet night in with hot chocolate and a good book, but it could equally be enjoying a cycle ride outside in the fresh air. Although the activities are seemingly unconnected, they both feed into a holistic sense of wellbeing – nourishing the mind and body with goodness.

Work life balance

This idea of general wellness also has a solid focus on maintaining a strong work life balance which sees the majority of Danes starting work at 8am and finishing at 4pm, Monday to Friday. The Danes begin and end their working day early to make the most of the daylight hours, especially in winter, and simply don’t stay late after work, placing great value on time spent at home with their family at the end of the day. The OECD Better Life Index states that ‘only 2% of employees work very long hours’ which is significantly less than the OECD average of 13%.

Work related stress

This work ethic is the accepted norm in Denmark and goes some way to avoiding underlying expectations to work longer than contracted hours to ‘get the job done’ which are more prevalent in the UK. It’s clear to see the correlation between a poor work life balance and increased stress levels, and this is highlighted in our recent Why BWell survey with 25% of UK respondents saying that they struggle to manage workplace pressure. Alongside this a third of people surveyed said that they believe their job has a negative impact on their mental health, and 20% admit they don’t get regular exercise.

Clock off and check out

There’s definitely something to be said for making some time for a hygge moment or two in the face of such statistics, and to help with navigating the most overwrought time of the year. Perhaps adopting a strict rule of clocking off on time most evenings to ensure you make it home to eat dinner with your family, or being mindful about creating joy in life’s everyday moments will be just enough to help you keep your ‘balance’ right through to the New Year.

Why BWell? If you’re interested in reading more about the current state of workplace wellbeing in the UK, you can download a copy HERE. 

Colds and flu – coming to a workplace near you!

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It might seem like avoiding the annual cold or flu is impossible, especially if you work in a close-knit office, for example, where the kitchen, café, photocopiers and even the conditioned air you breathe are all for communal use.

But the first spluttering coughs and wheezes of the season don’t have to mean that everyone in the workplace has an unavoidable date with the doctor. Take a look at our survival guide to help you avoid going down with the big sneeze this winter.

  • Get a flu jab to help minimise your chances of going down with this annual horror. Some workplaces offer a flu jab clinic but if not, you should be able to organise it through your GP.
  • Keep it clean! Make sure your desk is free of clutter and food and use anti-bacterial wipes to kill off any lurking bacteria. Your keyboard is likely the worst culprit for harbouring germs simply because you touch it all the time – remember to give it a clean once or twice a week to see off those invisible assailants.
  • Let’s have a show of hands . . . keep them clean – it’s that simple! Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face to minimise the possibility of transferring any bacteria on your fingers to your face.
  • Sanitise for extra security. Keep a mini bottle of hand sanitiser on your desk and use frequently – especially after touching anything used by lots of people such as the photocopier, kettle in the kitchen or the coffee machine.
  • Prevention is better than the cure! Stash some fizzy vitamin C tablets in your draw and keep the sniffles at bay. Have one each morning when you get to work to kick your immune system into action.
  • Get fit and stay healthy. Making sure you are in good health can make all the difference to keeping the dreaded diseases at bay during the winter months. If your diet is healthy and you exercise regularly, you are less likely to fall foul of the flu so make sure you keep up with keeping fit all year round.

Lastly, if you do find yourself falling foul of the flu, don’t be a martyr and struggle into work – you won’t win any awards for being the source of the infection that spreads through the workplace like wildfire. Do yourself and your colleagues a favour and stay at home in the warm while you recover.

Work-life balance: achieving the happy medium

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If you frequently surface from looking deep into the eyes of your work laptop to find that 6pm silently slid past more than an hour ago, or if the first thing you think about when you wake up is the email you sent late the night before, it is likely that your work-life balance is looking rather unhealthy.

Research by the Mental Health Foundation has found that more than 40% of employees neglect other aspects of their life because of work, and nearly two thirds have experienced a negative effect on their personal life including mental health problems, physical health issues, relationship and home life problems as well as a general lack of personal development.

There are measures that we can all put in place to try and refocus on working to live, rather than living to work, but with self-discipline and taking a firm stance top of the agenda, be prepared to toughen up!

40% of employees neglect other aspects of their life because of work.

Speak up

If your workload is unreasonable, and increasing demands are resulting in more overtime than home-time then you will need to find a way to tell your employer. If they aren’t aware that work expectations are too much, then they can’t help you.

Protect yourself

Work-related stress can result in mental health issues, so make sure you have measures in place to combat it. Make time for your hobby, exercise and social life to help ease the pressures of the working day and don’t cancel because you ‘need’ to stay late at work!

Shut off

Easy to say but often difficult to do. As you leave the office (on time!) make sure you mentally acknowledge that you have ‘left the building’ so you have effective closure at the end of the working day. Don’t look at your work emails after your official ‘home time’ and if you absolutely MUST take work home, then confine working to only one area of the house so that you can close the door on it when you’re done.

Time out

Eating at your desk might seem like the ideal way to be more productive, but it’s actually better for you to take a proper break away from your desk. Taking a walk will also raise those endorphins and help raise your productivity for the afternoon.

Work smart

Not hard. You’ll need to be very self-disciplined with your workload and prioritise effectively, but efficiency means you should be able to finish on time . . .

Cut down on the stress of your daily commute

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Whether you take the train, tube or bus, or drive into work every day, the chances are that you experience some level of stress during your journey.

Your drive in might be relatively easy unless you reach that particular pinch point roundabout a few minutes later than usual, and your train journey might be reasonable until an unforeseen delay due to a signal failure.

A commute longer than 20 minutes increases your susceptibility to chronic stress.

In fact, even though the uncontrollable events that sometimes hinder our daily commutes can have a negative effect on our mood, the impact of ever longer journeys on our general mental and physical health is much more sinister.

Getting to work

According to statistics from the Royal Society of Public Health, just last year there were a staggering 24 million regular commuters in England and Wales travelling to and from work for just under an hour, on average, per day. This rose to almost an hour and quarter for those commuting into big cities such as London and Manchester. It seems like a long time to be suffering the associated stresses of uncomfortable temperatures, overcrowding, journey delays and lack of control (as a passenger), doesn’t it? But consider too, that a commute longer than 20 minutes (however you choose to travel) increases your susceptibility to chronic stress, and over 35 minutes makes you more cynical, it’s clear to see the negative impact a lengthy commute can have on your mental wellbeing.

Unfortunately it doesn’t just stop there. A longer commute time sees an increased likelihood of snacking (particularly on unhealthy ‘fast’ food) and less time for exercise which means physical health can also be negatively affected.

So what can you do to minimise the strain and pain of an extended commute into work?

  • Take advantage of flexible working if your company supports it. Employers are increasingly open to flexible working patterns and working from home is more common than ever before.
  • Try parking a little further away from the office, or get off the bus/tube one stop before your destination and walk. Even walking for 10-15 minutes will help to raise your heart rate and gives you some vital time to prepare yourself calmly for the day ahead.
  • Why not cycle to work? Cycling will help to keep you fit and healthy, sees you doing your bit for the environment by reducing carbon emissions and won’t cost in fuel (apart from your own!) If your company operates a cycle-to-work scheme, you can ‘hire’ a bike through the scheme and pay for it through Salary Exchange (as long as your company offers it).

Our Why BWell 2017 research shows that 35% of the 18-29 age group and 29% of the 30-49s surveyed agree or strongly agree that their commute has a negative impact on their mood. Find out more about wellbeing in the UK workplace in the full research HERE.