With workplace stress on the rise, it’s time to work smarter, not harder.

Stress at work is a feeling many of us, unfortunately, know too well. Even if we love what we do at work, it can be hard to love going to work if the environment is a constant stream of “do, do, do” without any time for a proper break.

When one person reaches the point of burnout and has to take leave, the rest of the team has to pick up the slack. This cycle repeats until those left have too much work to handle and productivity plummets. Although this may seem like an inevitable event in some workplaces, it does not have to be so. Taking 10-15 minutes out of the day to focus on yourself can save countless time lost before it is too late.

Vitality 2019 stats show that £91.9 billion was lost due to ill-health-related absence and presenteeism in the workplace. With the Coronavirus Pandemic, one can only imagine how the numbers are for 2020 going into 2021.

Besides a personal experience of extreme burnout, these factors led Gina Buckney, Wellbeing Director, to create Your People Are Your Power. Their latest effort to solve the workplace wellbeing crisis comes with the launch of The Power Bank.

What is The Power Bank?

The Power Bank is a virtual workplace wellbeing platform designed and created by Your People Are Your Power. It is one of their primary services that help organizations improve their work environment. By helping foster better moods and introducing new mindfulness practices for employees, The Power Bank will help companies decrease absenteeism, improve productivity, and as a result, help profitability. This unique learning management system will host various wellbeing and mindfulness courses filled with easily digestible, bite-sized videos.

The power of an organization comes from its people. The Power Bank was conceived to help corporations invest in their people wellbeing by offering them guidance, support and education to recharge their personal batteries.

My Experience

As one of the first to try it out, I had no idea what to expect. Upon first hearing about it, I thought that the courses would be like those on the Calm app or Headspace: meditation strategies or something of that sort. However, The Power Bank courses that are currently available are videos of their own kind. For example, Gina, does a great job of using analogies throughout the 14 days of the Workplace Wellbeing course to help the user visualize everything she is talking about. The Workplace Wellbeing course starts with likening an employee being overworked to a phone or other handheld device with too many applications running or on a low charge. The phone’s performance diminishes over time with constant overuse; it makes sense that we, too, will eventually see the same happen to ourselves. Although these things may seem obvious in hindsight, sometimes it takes someone to tell you to realize it. The course does a great job of mixing personal mindfulness strategies with ways to improve your workplace wellbeing.

Because this is a new service, there is a limited amount of offerings. However, I understand there will be new courses added regularly covering body and mind health. Hearing Gina’s passion throughout the current courses tells me that there is much to look forward to as The Power Bank continues to grow.

It’s time to make life better at work!

If your organization struggles with high stress, and low morale, the Power Bank is a solution worth leaders investing in. Employees can go at their own pace through practical courses, taking just 10-15 minutes out of their day for guilt-free “me time.” Finding new ways or being reminded of the importance of self-care to improve work-life balance will help you stay well and allow your workplace to thrive. There are immediate solutions available for organizations who want to purchase between 25 and 100 seats and more tailored options for those organizations who want to put more than 100 employees through the experience.

To find out more, visit www.yourpeopleareyourpower.com or contact [email protected]

Article written by Monserrat Diaz Martinez, Pennsylvania, USA.