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Time away from desk boosts production and mental health
The current work culture seems to be all about working as much and as hard as we can. We eat our lunches at our desks and answer phone calls and emails into the night. In a world where people are always connected many take their work home with them.
Because of this we often hear about the need to unwind and de-stress at the end of the day — do yoga go for a run walk your dog clear your mind. But some people are now advocating for workplaces to implement employee self-care in a more collective way during work hours.
On the second Wednesday of each month people at the CommunityWise Resource Centre in Calgary gather as part of a Burnout Prevention League in an effort to detach from the work environment for a short time. CommunityWise is a not-for-profit resource centre that acts as an umbrella-organization and hub for about 80 non-profit and grassroots member groups.
The monthly gathering is very informal says Erin McFarlane the community development co-ordinator at the centre. Members simply hang out eat lunch and chat. Sometimes activities like sharing stories or painting are organized to encourage relaxation. She says the purpose of the league is to encourage people to get away from their desks to build community beyond working relationships and to acknowledge that burnout is a very concerning reality in our society. “We have a collective responsibility to take care of each other” she says.
Jamie Zarn who completed her social work practicum at the centre says the lunches act as a nice break in the day. “There’s no expectations. It’s a space where you can go and be free have a good time and relax. You try to remove yourself from the to-do list at work” she adds.
Research and anecdotal evidence shows that taking a break during the workday actually increases productivity according to Morgan Craig-Broadwith manager of workplace mental health at the Canadian Mental Health Association in Calgary. Zarn agrees: “You’re burning out from your work so you should be taking care of yourself within your work.”
Craig-Broadwith says social support in the workplace is very important to reducing the onset of mental illness and can be accomplished in four steps: acknowledging including valuing and supporting employees. However she also stresses the importance of giving employees the permission to take a break and also for workers to know that they have the power to give social support to one another.
Seth Leon who sits on the board at the centre and also works for the Alberta Community Co-operative Association says that while there is lots of “collision space” in the building where members can run into each other and share ideas it does take some facilitation to get people in one space at the same time. “At the end of the lunches people usually say ‘Hey we should do this more often’” says Leon.
The majority of CommunityWise members are focused on social and environmental issues which provides additional challenges. McFarlane says non-profit and voluntary work comes with unique emotional stress that can really weigh on employees.
Craig-Broadwith says that while most people deal with some level of stress in their role the non-profit sector is just different. “Typically they are helping professions and there is an element of vicarious trauma. They hear so many stories that are often quite sad and almost devastating in some cases” she explains. “How much can you actually give before you’ve become unwell yourself?”
In addition to the Burnout Prevention League McFarlane says CommunityWise will soon be opening a room called the Treehouse Oasis where members can take a break whenever they feel the need.
