Wellness Travel Expert Paul Joseph shares why it’s so important for professionals to take time out and re-focus on their wellbeing on a wellness break.
In today’s modern workplace environment, the pressure to succeed has seen an unprecedented rise in stress-related illnesses, burnout and depression. Detrimental to both our physical and mental health, knock-on effects such as inactivity and fatigue ultimately end up costing not only the individual but the business as a whole.
With workplace depression effecting one in four Brits and work-related stress the cause of 11.3 million sick days last year in Great Britain alone, a combination of longer working hours, increased pressure and even workplace bullying leaves many modern professionals unable to cope. As such, more companies are realising the vital importance of the wellbeing of their employees, to ensure a profitable and sustainable business. With wellness breaks offering a supportive outlet in which to rest and recuperate away from work responsibilities, professionals can return rejuvenated and focused, with benefits from increased work productivity to a boost in team positivity.
Encouraging take-home practices and healthy living, wellness breaks avoid short-term fixes and offer long-term solutions, covering everything from learning stress management techniques to demystifying nutrition through personalised diets and providing well-structured fitness regimes tailored to individuals. Don’t wait for the problem to get worse; take back control of your mind and body and see your business profit from a happier, healthier and more proficient working environment.
A healthier workforce
Offering more than the short-term fix of a typical fly-and-flop holiday, a wellness retreat could be your saving grace in avoiding both short and long-term illnesses. Taking the time to recharge and establish healthy lifestyle habits can help to tackle illnesses such as depression and burnout, as well as providing a strengthened immune system, meaning that the common cold or flu will be less prevalent around the office.
Early identification
Now grouped together and termed as lifestyle diseases, many illnesses such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis are preventable. The early identification of risk factors and unhealthy lifestyle habits can play an enormous role in prevention. With many wellness retreats offering comprehensive health evaluations and diagnostics, professionals can be in the know about their current health status.
Increased quality of life
Offering time away to focus on your wellbeing, a wide variety of wellness holidays can be tailored to target any number of health and fitness goals, from managing stress to boosting weight loss and tackling insomnia. Together with a refreshing change of scene in a new destination away from the office, professionals will return home with an increased vitality and quality of life.
Reduced company costs
The UK’s Department of Health has estimated the annual cost to the NHS, as a result of inactivity, at £1.4 billion and lost productivity at £5.5 billion from sickness absence. With a healthier organisation, companies will see reduced expenses on a multi-dimensional level, from less sick days and on-site injuries to increased company morale, productivity and employee retention.
Wellness Travel Specialist and Entrepreneur Paul is the co-founder of Health and Fitness Travel, a global leader in wellness holidays worldwide. Always ahead of the curve in pioneering new health programmes that revive the soul, boost fitness, or address serious health issues, the worldwide wellness tourism industry has now become a multi-billion-pound sector, growing faster than travel in general. Twitter: @hf_travel
