The Importance of Valuing Wellbeing in Small Business

The Importance of Valuing Wellbeing in Small Business

“You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first” – Norm Kelly

We spend one third of our adult lives working. If our work is going well, this can be a source of meaning, purpose and achievement for us. But if things aren’t going well at work, we can become overwhelmed, stressed, and feel depleted.

Working in a small business or being a small business owner can be particularly challenging. Small business staff may find themselves working long hours to keep their business going, using their personal time for work tasks, finding it tricky to keep up with demands from government regulations, or running into financial strain, particularly in the cost-of-living crisis.

For owners, it can be extremely rewarding to run your own business, and can be a big source of meaning, pride and accomplishment. At the same time it comes with challenges as running a business is tough work. It can be very isolating at times, making it important to connect with people who go through the same high’s and low’s they do.

There has been a big focus on mental health in the workplace in recent years. Employers are obligated to ensure the safety of their workers, which includes supporting their mental health and wellbeing, and governments are clamping down on “psychosocial hazards” which relate to anything that could harm our mental health.

We know that taking care of your mental health and wellbeing can lead to many personal and professional benefits, such as better health, ability to manage stress, improved relationships and greater output, productivity and job satisfaction. However, many of the options aiming to help businesses develop a culture of wellbeing – including ours – are difficult for smaller businesses to access. Small businesses might not have the time, resources, or financial capacity, to invest in solutions to support their wellbeing and may therefore miss out.

But many of the options aiming to help businesses develop a culture of wellbeing – including our workplace wellbeing programs – are difficult for smaller businesses to access. Small businesses might think they do not have the time, resources, or financial capacity, to invest in solutions to support their wellbeing and may therefore miss out.

Introducing, Be Well Work well

To help solve this problem, South Australia’s Office for Small and Family Business has awarded Be Well Co and our partner organisation Gallagher Bassett, a grant to provide small and family business and sole traders throughout South Australia free access to our leading workplace wellbeing training offerings. This enables us to empower small businesses to take steps to support their wellbeing and help their business thrive.

Recognising that small business owners and staff may be under time pressure and have a lot on their plates, we have curated 60-90-minute wellbeing programs with practical, scientifically based, ways to improve wellbeing that can be accessed around work commitments. We believe that taking care of yourself IS taking care of business and is essential for yourself and your business success.

– VISIT OUR BE WELL WORK WELL PAGE HERE – 

We are offering three different workshops

Wellbeing habits for your personal and professional life

In a 60-minute masterclass for small business staff discover the importance of building a supportive workplace culture for mental health and wellbeing, and experiment with a number of practical activities to manage the way you feel day-to-day.

Psychosocial Hazards with a twist for small business leaders

In a 90-minute masterclass specifically for leaders in and owners of a small business explore the topic of psychosocial hazards and work on establishing a process for handling them in your workplace with your unique business values. Develop knowledge on how to safeguard your own and your staff’s mental health, by responding to the impact of mental illness and promoting a culture of wellbeing.

Be Well Foundations for small business

In a full day deep-dive for anyone working in small business get some of the latest scientific insights into ways to improve your mental health and wellbeing. Explore a variety of mental health topics, including stress management, countering thinking traps, exploring meaning and purpose, mindfulness, and much more. Develop a plan to build ongoing wellbeing habits and embed activities into your work routine.

If you work for a small or family business in SA, and you want to join one of the general session, please get in touch with us at hello@bewellco.io

Alternatively send us an email if you are a business with 10 staff or more, or if you are open to bringing together 10 other small business staff. We can work with you to set up dedicated sessions at your business.

For more on pouring with an empty cup, watch this 60 second excerpt from Keynote Speaker & Professional Growth Enthusiast, Lindsay Brown.