8 Reasons Why People Love Personal and Professional Development in the Workplace

Did you know that an adult spends an average of 12 hours a day in front of some form of electronic gadget, ranging from phones to laptops? People working in an office spend more than three-fourths of their days in a sitting posture. Workplace patterns such as those above hold the potential to cause severe and long-lasting health issues. And these issues can happen at a physical office or home office or a co-working space, or even at a nearby cafe where you work. As all of us spend most of our time at a workplace, it is pivotal to understand the significance of workplace wellness and how you can incorporate it into your life.

Workplace health and wellness ideas

Here are some simple ways through which you can attain workplace wellness.

1. Change your posture periodically: It is essential to change your posture every once during your working hours. Whether it is just sitting straight or taking a five to ten-minute break to take a short walk or drink some water, even the slightest changes in your posture can go a long way in helping you maintain workplace health.

2. Be mindful of your food intake: Amidst the pressure of deliverables, meetings, and ad-hoc targets, it is easy to lose sight of having a healthy and balanced lunch and light refreshments during your workday. Your diet should be rich in nutrients and include fruits and juices.

3. Stay hydrated: Water is a magical elixir that can energize your body, mind, and soul. The simplest way to stay fresh throughout your workday is to have a refillable water bottle at your work desk. If you do not wish to break the flow of work and end up compromising your water intake; as a result, a reusable water bottle can come to your rescue.

Care about your physical and mental well-being

Akin to how you care about your work, your team, and the fulfillment of organizational goals, you must also care about your physical and mental well-being. This is significant in the short run to enhance your overall health and efficiency, but it also carries immense weight in the long run. Remember that your physical and mental well-being are connected and directly impact your life.

Well-defined corporate wellness programs on the rise

In light of the increasing awareness of mental well-being, organizations are investing in Corporate Wellness Programs to enhance the overall worksite wellness of their resources. While designing such programs, organizations need to keep the seven aspects of health in mind, namely, social, emotional, intellectual, physical, environmental, occupational, and spiritual wellness. Only a combination of these seven can genuinely reach the wellness target for us all!

Personal and professional development

A job could be just one thread on the tapestry of a person's professional life, which is why individuals usually focus on learning and honing their skills to keep growing professionally. Organizations must encourage the professional development of their resources since it benefits the organization and the employees alike. Offering upskilling, cross-training, motivational training, and multiple ways to enhance one's career are game-changers in the recruitment game for several companies!

The importance of professional development in the workplace

With an ever-increasing number of organizations realizing the importance of employees' professional development, there is a higher emphasis on the development and implementation of Professional Development Programs. Such programs add to the skillset and experience of employees, but they also hold substantial benefits for organizations concerning their roles in teams and tenure at the organization.

Organizations that are not focused on the professional development of their resources tend to witness a higher degree of attrition, leading to higher hiring costs. Being provided opportunities to gain experience as a person and add to their skill set is increasingly seen as a necessary job expectation by employees.

Feel motivated and invested at work

Professional development in the workplace is not just the responsibility of your organization. You also play an instrumental role in attaining personal and professional development in the workplace. It is, therefore, critical to not just be responsible for your work but also feel excited and motivated by it. You must not confine your tasks to deliverables but try to add value in every activity and learn something new each day in the job from your teammates, clients, and leaders alike. Self-motivation drives people to their career heights and opens up several opportunities to grow.

Align your goals with the organization’s goals

For the goals of an organization to be fulfilled, each resource must be committed to the task. The easiest way to do so is to align your goals with your organizations. For instance, if your organization aims to be one of the best in customer service and client interface, you must incorporate that goal into your professional goals. The briefest of enhancements in team synergy is beneficial for all the stakeholders of an organization. Today, many organizations strive hard to simplify their organization goals for each employee to understand and replicate in their work. They are also conducting induction programs very thoughtfully to inculcate the practical details of company culture and typically lay down softer or outcome-oriented expectations from an employee.

The benefits of personal and professional development

Personal and professional development in the workplace can go a long way in carving your career path and shaping your growth as a person and a professional alike. There are ample benefits of personal and professional development, including the advancement of employees' knowledge and skills, higher job satisfaction, lower levels of attrition, enhanced productivity, alignment of individual and organizational goals, to name a few.

As Stephen Covey says, "Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers." Several organizations have followed this quote as a rulebook, and many have started understanding the importance of employee wellness, their development, and their contribution since the pandemic hit us. The events and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic clearly illustrate how several intertwined aspects of a human being, i.e., an employee, are. A combination of mental, physical, financial, and family wellness maintains the wheel of life for every one of us and suggests how important a holistic approach to employee well-being is. In the quest to explore several areas of employee engagement, wellness, and development, the following blog from Extentia will focus on communication and leadership.

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