Stress and work life balance

Our first project was looking at stress and work life balance.

This topic linked directly with sleep, both subjects were common trends found when DDHF did a questionnaire for all staff to identify key health issues that were important to those who work at the Federation.

We encouraged staff to recommend tips for a better night’s sleep and to relax.

Some suggestions we received were

• listening to podcasts
• having a night routine
• avoiding certain foods and drinks before bed
• having a dark room and trying to read before going to sleep.
• Essential oils were available in the common room for staff to try along with the different uses for the oils.

We wanted to highlight the effects that stress and lack of sleep can have on our health, the impact of either can cause many issues physically and mentally.

A list of recommended Spotify playlists for sleep and relaxation were displayed for people to try. We had great engagement from staff writing what stresses they have in their lives and top tips on how to handle these issues.

Some suggestions included;

• the stress of limited time being reduced by forward planning,
• overthinking being reduced by making a list or asking for support.

With this project it was important everyone understood we all have stresses and support from each other can make a difference, it sparked conversations about stresses in people’s lives and suggestions to overcome this.

Teams were discussing how they could support each other from making a cup of tea to going for a short walk at lunch.

Feedback from colleagues was very positive and they found all the information very interesting