Career cheer

On average, Americans spend around 90,000 hours of their lives on the job. That’s more than 10 years! With so much time spent on your career, it’s important to make sure you actually enjoy your workday.

Cassie Bruce, manager of client engagement with Baptist Health’s Employer Wellness Solution, PATH (Personalized Approach to Health), shared some tips on how to feel happier at work. PATH is a partnership between Baptist Health and First Coast YMCA that provides customized solutions for local and national employers to improve their employees' health, productivity and well-being.

As Bruce explained, their mission is to “help employees feel their happiest and healthiest at work.” Sounds great, right?

Here are her top 5 tips for happiness at the workplace.

1. Practice mindfulness, which is all about taking time to pause during the day to reset. This could be through:
   • Meditating
   • Praying
   • Doing breathing exercises
   • Showing gratitude
   • Journaling
2. Align your passion and purpose. When your work is connected to a greater purpose, it helps keep things in perspective and makes it easier to work through challenges as they arise. In addition, when you’re passionate about what you do, you’re naturally driven to do your best work.
3. Take care of yourself. This includes nutrition, hydration, exercise and sleep.
   • Nutrition: Eat more antioxidant-rich foods (think fruits, vegetables, salmon and dark chocolate) to better manage stress and fuel your body.
   • Hydration: Many times, when you’re tired, hungry or can’t focus, it’s because you’re dehydrated. Multiply your weight by 0.67 (67%) to learn the number of ounces of water you should drink per day. Add an extra 12 ounces for every 30 minutes you exercise, especially if it’s out in the heat.
   • Exercise: Get your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes most days of the week. Choose an exercise you enjoy, such as walking, running, swimming, biking, jumping on a trampoline or playing a sport.
   • Sleep: Most people need 7-9 hours every night. You can improve your sleep by limiting exposure to all electronic devices at least an hour before bedtime.
4. Promote work-life balance. Schedule a time to be done with work for the day and honor it. You can also try to implement small breaks (10-15 minutes at a time) during the day to recharge. Make sure to fit in time after the workday for activities you enjoy and spending time with loved ones.
5. Practice healthy communication. Open communication is key for healthy relationships between employees and their managers, and among coworkers. Some ways to practice open communication include:
   • Being timely: Express your feelings directly as soon as possible.
   • Listening: Actively seek to understand another person’s perspective.
   • Seeking solutions: Rather than focusing on problems, work with others to find resolutions.
   • Being respectful: Honor other people’s perspectives, agree to disagree when opinions don’t align, and identify a solution that helps everyone move forward.

It’s important for your overall well-being to feel happy at work. To help with this, Baptist Health has several Y Healthy Living Centers, offering wellness coaching and programs to the public. You can find a location near you here. Click here to learn more about how Baptist Health's PATH program supports local and national businesses and their efforts to promote a healthy workplace.