{"id":955,"date":"2023-05-08T09:47:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T07:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retailingafrica.com\/companies\/?post_type=company_news&#038;p=955"},"modified":"2023-05-08T10:59:40","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T08:59:40","slug":"prioritising-self-care-for-mental-well-being-and-productivity-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"company_news","link":"https:\/\/retailingafrica.com\/companies\/company_news\/prioritising-self-care-for-mental-well-being-and-productivity-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Prioritising Self-Care for Mental Well-being and Productivity in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>\u00a0By\u00a0Talya da Silva: Production Director, Bateleur Brand Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In recent years, mental health has gained global attention as a critical component of overall health. While physical health is crucial, nurturing our mental health helps us navigate challenging times, become more resilient, and enjoy a better quality of life. However, South Africans still face significant challenges in accessing mental healthcare.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Bateleur&#8217;s previous Vantage Point survey, 43% of people who classify themselves as unhappy worry about their mental health, depression, and anxiety.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The latest Vantage Point survey shows that only 10% of South Africans currently see a mental health professional. This may be due to several factors, such as the cost of seeing a mental health professional, limited access to mental health professionals, or the perceived stigma associated with seeking help.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maintaining a positive state of mind is believed by many of the respondents to be bolstered by the following, according to the latest survey:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>59% of people ensure they get enough sleep,<\/li>\n<li>59% do light physical activity,<\/li>\n<li>54% spend time outdoors,<\/li>\n<li>50% pursue hobbies they enjoy, and<\/li>\n<li>47% avoid stressful situations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, while therapy and medication can be essential for mental health support, self-therapy, or self-care, is growing in popularity among South Africans.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Self-care aims to maintain physical health, reduce stress, maintain good mental health, and cultivate healthy relationships. Prioritising self-care can be challenging as people often prioritise others&#8217; needs over their own, leading to burnout and compromised well-being. However, taking time for oneself is not selfish, but instead can improve overall mood and positively impact relationships with others. Self-care has additional benefits, such as reducing burnout and enhancing self-esteem.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a common misconception that self-care activities should occur outside business hours. However, integrating self-care into the workday can be more beneficial for productivity. Chronic workplace stress negatively affects employees&#8217; and employers&#8217; health and well-being, leading to decreased productivity, increased burnout, more sick days, poor judgment, and less teamwork and collaboration.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intellect (2022) reports high employee disengagement and burnout, highlighting the need for a workplace culture promoting self-care. Managers can lead by example in creating a culture that promotes their team&#8217;s mental well-being, including not scheduling meetings during lunch breaks, not scheduling meetings or calling team members after hours, and not expecting replies to emails outside work hours.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In conclusion, prioritising self-care is crucial for mental well-being and productivity in South Africa. By adopting self-care practices and promoting a workplace culture, individuals and organisations can improve overall health and well-being.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>References:<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(2022) <em>A culture of self-care at the workplace: why it matters and how to build one<\/em>. Available at:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/intellect.co\/read\/self-care-company-culture\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/intellect.co\/read\/self-care-company-culture\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1683618307961000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Ct__g-vdRwCLPL8DUFZ3z\">https:\/\/intellect.co\/read\/self-care-company-culture\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spitz, E. (2023)\u00a0<em>Why Self-Care Matters for Both Employers and Employees.\u00a0<\/em>Available at:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.heartmanity.com\/why-self-care-matters-for-both-employers-and-employees\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/blog.heartmanity.com\/why-self-care-matters-for-both-employers-and-employees&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1683618307961000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0xEpPItqXM-tmaW3CZIIgo\">https:\/\/blog.heartmanity.com\/why-self-care-matters-for-both-employers-and-employees<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The latest Bateleur Vantage Point survey shows that only 10% of South Africans currently see a mental health professional &#8211; yet 43% of people who classify themselves as unhappy, worry about their mental health, depression, and anxiety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":956,"template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"company":[6],"class_list":["post-955","company_news","type-company_news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","company-bateleur-brand-planning"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/retailingafrica.com\/companies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/company_news\/955"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/retailingafrica.com\/companies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/company_news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/retailingafrica.com\/companies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/company_news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retailingafrica.com\/companies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/retailingafrica.com\/companies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"company","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retailingafrica.com\/companies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/company?post=955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}