5 Healthy Work-Life Balance Tips for Wellness Center Workers
Last Updated on 6 August, 2024
Are you a wellness center owner or staff member struggling to find a healthy work-life balance? You’re not alone! Most of us are trying our best to balance out our busy lives and jam-packed schedules. Between work and home life, sometimes it feels like we’ll never get the balance we’re searching for.
In fact, reports show that 30% of small business owners work more than 50 hours per week, almost 20% work 60 hours or more per week, and nearly 80% feel like they work too much.
On the employee side of things, research shows that 61% of employees are overworked and currently experiencing burn out.
Now that’s a lot of people who are missing out on a healthy work-life balance!
If you’ve been searching for the elusive healthy work-life balance without success, you’re headed straight towards burnout. The wellness industry is not an easy business (yes, we see the irony there too), and striking a balance is crucial for your sanity, your success, and your health.
To add to the stress, clients in the wellness business can be tough to deal with. It’s literately your job to make others feel better; and as a result, patience and manners aren’t always what you’re faced with.
But here’s the key takeaway: you can’t heal others until you’ve healed yourself.
Even though you’re in the wellness business, it can be hard to apply the lessons you’re teaching to your own life. But once you start working your way towards balance, you can teach your clients to follow your example as a way to start prioritizing balance in their own lives.
So how can you get started on a path to a healthy work-life balance?
1. Set Boundaries
Do you feel like you’re running from one responsibility to the next? It’s common for business owners to be available to their staff at all hours and for staff to be accessible to their clients. If you’re problem-solving on the go or on-call around the clock, something’s gotta give!
How can you get any down time if you’re always in work-mode?
If you own the business, setting boundaries are the key to being able to step away for rest and relaxation. Stick to your schedule. Be clear that being out of the office means that you’re unavailable for staff, unless it’s an emergency.
As an employee, the same rules apply. Separate yourself from work by limiting the access your clients have to you when they’re not face-to-face. Work-life balance for wellness center employees is just as important as it is for the boss!
Think about your team too. Don’t make the mistake of calling on someone who’s not working, don’t extend staff hours, and don’t expect work from members of your team that infringes on their off time. If balance is important to you, it’s important to them too—and when balance is achieved all around, it makes for a happy and productive team!
2. Ask for Help
No one person can do it all. We know that business owners and devoted staff often become jack-of-all-trades, but ‘master of none’ is not a prize you want to win!
Everybody needs help, so learn how to ask for it, accept it, and appreciate it—this approach will go a long way in your quest for a healthy work-life balance. And encourage the rest of your team to do the same. Adopt the philosophy ‘teamwork makes the dream work’ and employees will get used to the idea that work is best tackled when shared.
Between your work life and your home life, here are a few tips to being able to better manage your time and achieve more balance:
At work
Now that you’ve decided that healthy work-life balance is a priority for you and your team, it’s time to get everyone on board! Establish company rules that create balance and encourage staff to handle each issue on-site.
What makes this a win-win? A system that offers staff more responsibility will boost their confidence while affording everyone some much-needed healthy work-life balance.
Not only that but when they see each other prioritizing balance and cheering each other on, they’ll do that too. What a great way to build a rested and motivated team!
How can you enjoy your time off if you’re always being pulled back in? Be sure that you and your team make balance a company priority, delegate responsibilities, and are diligent about off-hours.
At home
This one can be a tough one because it’s personal. But take a good look at where you could use a hand and go for it!
Drop offs weighing you down? See if you can carpool to share some of the labor! Not enough time to clean the house the way you’d like? Hire help! Garden getting out of control? Set the kids up to weed as a family, it’s a great way to bond while lightening the load.
Do you see where we’re going with this? Many hands make light work and you will never achieve a healthy work-life balance if you’re busy trying to do everything. Having help… well, it really helps!
3. Make Time for Self-Care
Self-care is a vital part of achieving a healthy work-life balance. What does self-care look like to you? Time in the spa, going for a run, reading, whatever it is you like to do when you have me-time. Taking care of you—physically, mentally, and spiritually—is what counts here.
As a wellness center owner, consider offering your staff perks like discounted services or products to encourage them to take time out for self-care. Leading by example will encourage your staff to prioritize themselves in the same way.
Are you a wellness center employee? Be sure to take advantage of those perks—you might be able to get closer to a healthy work-life balance right where you work!
Whichever path to self-care you choose, don’t forget to put it in your schedule. This may seem silly, but if you don’t treat this time like a scheduled appointment, it can be tempting to break it in favor of another commitment.
Making self-care top priority is a vital part in achieving healthy work-life balance for you and for your staff.
4. Make a Commitment
Committing to making changes is a step in the right direction, but accountability is key! One great way to get some accountability is to make a commitment to someone on the outside.
Here’s what we mean: if you’ve had a busy day at work, but had planned a run in the evening to blow off some steam, you might tell yourself that you’re too tired or you just don’t feel like it.
On the other hand, if you are part of a running group or you have a running buddy, you might be less likely to cancel. The notion that someone else is counting on you will often fuel you to keep your promises.
What does a commitment look like for you? Choose something you really enjoy as an escape— if you see it as a chore, it can’t be an effective tool. Have you always wanted to join a choir? Do you love to play soccer? Can you volunteer for a cause that’s important to you?
Being accountable is one way to guarantee that you step away to take a little time for yourself. Sounds like a healthy work-life balance to us!
5. Pace Yourself
Here’s where we tell you that even though we want you to take your commitment to a healthy work-life balance seriously, you also need to be prepared to give yourself some grace. You’re new at this! Every new habit takes time and this one is no exception.
Are you still sneaking a look at your phone at your kid’s soccer game? Checking on your numbers at the movies? Dropping in to make sure everything is running smoothly? No biggie— here’s where you cut yourself some slack. Celebrate your victories!
If you put the phone away during a social event, give yourself a pat on the back. Checking in less? That’s a win! When you take a positive approach, you’ll stay motivated to keep doing your best!
Take that approach with the rest of your team, too. Congratulate them on taking steps to maintain a healthy balance and that will fuel them to keep at it! Be happy for each other when you see someone thriving! If you can help build an inspiring and motivating team who celebrates each other’s successes, everybody wins.
Not only does this type of approach make a healthier, happier team, but once the staff learns to manage that separation, it means that they’re attention will be strictly focused on work while they’re in the building.
Start with baby steps, back away slowly, and you’ll steadily gain momentum toward reaching the healthy work-life balance you’ve always wanted.
A Few Final Words
You can’t argue that a healthy work-life balance for you and your team would improve morale, make you more productive, and better your health. Start taking the necessary steps today to shift your mentality and adopt some of the tips we’ve shared.
A balanced team is a happy and motivated team, so stop struggling for that balance and get started on the path to a positive and productive life for you and your team.
Ready to stop struggling for that healthy work-life balance once and for all? WellnessLiving’s all-in-one software can help manage your time and your business, so you can achieve the healthy work-life balance you’ve been searching for! Book your free, no-commitment demo today!
