For two weeks now I have been fighting a virus and feeling pretty under the weather And sorry for myself. The first week I soldiered on. Went to work, kept telling myself I could make it to Friday evening and then I'd have the weekend to rest. But I didn't make it to Friday, Almost, but not quite. I woke up that morning and got up to shower and drag my body to work. And then I stopped, my body was screaming at me, "GET BACK TO BED!!!" And finally, I listened. I didn't go to work and told myself taking a day to rest and then having the weekend to do the same would fix me up. But it didn't. Saturday came around and I felt even worse. Then Sunday saw me coughing even more. And Monday was another sick day. Had I listened to my body a bit earlier in the week instead of pushing myself to work, maybe I wouldn't have lost a whole weekend to illness. Maybe I would have made it back to work on Monday. Maybe I’d feel better now instead of still pushing through, working and trying to recover at the same time. And it got me thinking, why do we struggle so much to listen to our bodies? Why do we put work first and self-care second? I get it, there are work stresses, deadlines, pressure to perform and we all want to do our best in our jobs and prove that we are hard working and dedicated. But when it comes at a cost to our health, we’ve got to start asking if this really is the right thing.
As a nation, the U.K. are taking fewer sick days than ever before. In fact, research has shown that they are at an all time low. If only that were a sign that we are now seeing a healthier and happier workforce, but sadly, it's not the case. While sick days are at a low, presenteeism is showing an increase. Presenteeism is when you go to work but you are not well, so you aren't really working at your usual productive rate. Presenteeism is also strongly linked to mental health conditions, such as anxiety, stress and depression and it's costing UK employers billions of pounds each year.
Even when we take sick days, I bet we still log on, keep an eye on the e-mails, fearful we will miss something important. I know I did. But thinking about it now, is this helpful on the road to recovery? Why do we feel the need to still be there when deep down we know we'd rather be giving our body the rest it's asking for. We need to start prioritising self-care. That means taking a sick day when we are genuinely sick and letting work go after work, so we spend our free time focusing on us.
Of course, we have other responsibilities, things to do, people to meet, families to take care of. But put self-care in your diary too, your body and mind will thank you for it. Schedule it into your week. When you see it written down in black and white in your diary, you know when it will happen and you'll be more likely to make it happen and you can look forward to it just like that other date in your diary for a girl's night out. And do whatever self-care means to you at that time. Staying in to read a book, having a bubble bath and getting to bed early, lying down with your legs up the wall before watching your favourite programme on t.v, squeezing in a yoga class, going for a walk - whatever! Just make it about your self-care. You matter x
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