Looking after your Wellbeing Whilst Working within the Recruitment Industry

Nexere Consulting’s Top Tips for our current and future employees! 

Take breaks 

Our first tip is to take breaks. This means making sure you, for example, take your lunch break at work. On your breaks, make sure you go for a walk, have a chat with colleagues (about non-related things!), eat substantial food that will keep you energised and refreshed, perhaps listen to some music or even find an area in your office where you can rewind and play some games with colleagues. At Nexere, our employees love to use the meeting room tables to play Ping-Pong, and also use the pool table in their free time! This means that when they do resume back to work after lunch, they have a clear mind and can work efficiently. 

Use Nexere Consulting’s EAP wellbeing package! 

At Nexere Consulting, we provide our employees with a top-ranked wellbeing package. Our Employee Assistance Programme is a confidential employee benefit, designed to help deal with personal and professional problems that may be affecting home/work life, health and general wellbeing. Our EAP service provides a complete support network that offers expert advice and compassionate guidance 24/7. Some of the services available are: access to counselling, legal information, bereavement support, medical information and also online cognitive behavioural therapy sessions. We also value the mental well-being of employee's family members, and therefore offer support for immediate family members.  

Using our Employee Assistance Programme will help you deal with any work or personal stresses, allowing you to improve your wellbeing.   

Limit your caffeine intake 

Working in an office, or at home, often means that people are constantly making teas and coffees to keep them going throughout the day. However, too much caffeine often leads individuals to experience some not-so-great side effects! For example, caffeine is known to increase alertness, and therefore at higher doses, this may make someone feel anxious. Alongside this, it has been proven that too much caffeine may also cause rapid breathing and increase stress levels – this is not what we want! 

Additionally, caffeine’s ability to keep people awake can mean that drinking caffeine too late in the day, can make it difficult to get enough restorative sleep. Studies have shown that higher caffeine intake, increases the amount of time it takes to fall asleep, and also decreases the total sleeping time. On average, caffeine remains in your system for five hours – but can last up until nine hours, depending on the individual. 

Sleeping!

Many people do not realise the important impact that sleep has on our bodies. Sleep is an essential function that allows your body and mind to recharge. Sleep also helps the body remain healthy, and stave off diseases. For most adults, a minimum of seven hours of sleep is needed – and having an insufficient amount of sleep, can lead to serious repercussions. Sleep deprivation can lead to individuals struggling with concentration, reduced cognitions, delayed reactions, mood shifts and an increase in physical and mental health issues. If you struggle with your sleep, it is important to establish a realistic bedtime routine that you can stick to on most days, maintain comfortable temperature settings and low light levels in your bedroom, and try to strictly keep your bedroom for downtime, rather than working, for example. 

Exercise and hobbies – ultimately, make time for yourself. 

Exercise is a significant factor in reducing stress. Studies have demonstrated that exercise reduces fatigue, improves alertness and enhances one's overall cognitive function. Exercise and other physical activity, produce endorphins (chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers, and improve the ability to sleep), ultimately reducing stress. Taking a break from work, and participating in something you enjoy such as a sport, the gym, or even vocational activities such as music, and performing arts – can have a huge positive impact on your mental wellbeing. 

Talk about it. Male statistics. 

Lastly, one of the most effective ways to look after our mental well-being is by having these conversations! Simply talking about our thoughts, feelings and mental well-being, means that we can remove the stigma and offer one another advice and support. The recruitment industry is heavily dominated by men, and often, men are wired to believe that they cannot show emotions as they must adhere to what society incorrectly assumes is ‘manly’. This means that within the Recruitment industry, workplaces need to go that extra mile, to support their employees. We must encourage and provide spaces for our employees to talk, and seek support. 

At Nexere, our employee’s wellbeing is at the top of our priorities. Offering an award-winning wellbeing package helps us support our employees in the best way possible. We hope that taking breaks, limiting your caffeine intake, improving your sleep, engaging in exercise and hobbies, and most importantly, having positive conversations about mental wellbeing, will help you feel that little bit happier, and less stressed each day. If you would like additional support or a professional to speak to, please contact Mind Charity at www.mind.org.uk or on their helpline at 0300 123 3393.