Spooky season is upon us! For many employees, this is a time to decorate, carve pumpkins, and engage in all the fun Fall festivities that October brings. But as HR and Benefits Professionals, this time of year signifies something very different. That’s right… It’s Open Enrollment season!
If this time of year typically brings the “scaries” for you and your team, we’re here to help. Keep reading for our tricks (and treats!) to maintain your personal health and wellness during this busy time of year.
HR Professionals Provide Support Year-Round
As HR and Benefits Professionals, you wear a lot of hats. You are tasked with a wide variety of responsibilities throughout the year and your team is often the “go-to” resource for both employees and employers. With your plates already being so full, adding Open Enrollment to the mix can create additional layers of stress that even the calmest professionals may have trouble managing.
Even though this is likely the most hectic time of year for you and your team, it’s neither practical nor healthy to strictly focus on your job and forget about your own well-being in the process. Staying in tune with your mental, emotional, and physical health during this time will not only help you stay on top of your game but will also ensure your organization is getting the support it needs to remain successful.
Taking the Scaries out of Open Enrollment: Before, During, and After
Before Open Enrollment Begins
You know your busy season is fast approaching, so how can you proactively prepare yourself for wellness success? There may be familiar wellness activities you always try to focus on, such as eating a balanced diet or exercising. In addition to those, there are three more behaviors you can integrate into your wellness plan. Consider this the time to balance yourself!
- Set the Stage
What wellness activities do you want to prioritize most in the coming weeks?
Get into a habit in advance of putting wellness into practice and start your day by taking time for yourself.
A morning meditation, deep breathing or sunrise walk can help get all the jitters out before you jump into the stress of your day. Be intentional and take note of your surroundings. Feel the temperature, breathe fresh air in your lungs, and admire the seasonal décor. Whatever it might be, try to minimize thinking about your ever-growing to-do list and truly immerse yourself in the moment.
Pro-Tip: Making a list of your wellness priorities can help you remember and stick to them. Commit to checking in with your list daily to make sure you are incorporating at least some of the wellness activities you value most into your day, no matter how busy it is.
- Optimize Sleep
To fit everything into one day, sleep is often sacrificed. But it’s important to note that sleep is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. Without it, you run the risk of developing serious health conditions. When you aren’t sleeping enough or getting good quality sleep, you may begin to have trouble focusing or remembering tasks – and nobody has time for that during open enrollment!
If you don’t already have one, creating a nighttime routine to relax your mind and body can help in times of high stress or busy seasons. Whether it’s listening to calming music, taking a hot shower or bath, or drinking herbal tea, it’s important to maintain your routine, stay consistent, and create healthy sleep patterns.
- Stay Organized
As an HR or Benefits Professional, you are a critical component to keeping an organization running smoothly. While staying organized at work is a given, your wellness routine needs organization too!
As you approach open enrollment, you can keep your healthy habits organized by creating a plan. If your day is often hectic, setting appointments on your calendar can help you remember when you need to take a breather. Whether it’s a reminder to take a five-minute walk every 2 hours, or allotting a few minutes for stretching throughout your day, taking time for yourself doesn’t have to be time consuming. Small steps now lead to big results later!
Pro-Tip: Check in with yourself regularly; be honest and identify where you might be lagging and then work on how you can improve. Remember, this is a no judgement zone! You may get sidetracked at times but what’s important is that you don’t let a small bump in the road deter you from getting back on track.
During Open Enrollment
Once you’re in the thick of open enrollment, it’s easier than ever to brush away your needs for the needs of the company. Employees are bombarding you with what seems like endless questions, you’re constantly reminding the team of deadlines, and you still have your daily work to complete. As pressure begins to build, don’t lose sight of your personal well-being. Instead, refocusing your energy on some of the practices below can help you stay committed.
- Practice Mindfulness
Being intentional with your mindfulness routine during open enrollment can effectively combat and address workplace stress during this busy season. Wake up in the morning and practice a few minutes of gratitude by writing down what you’re thankful for, schedule time during the day to tune in to your brain and how you’re feeling, and wind down at night with meditative exercises.
The benefits of mindfulness should not be overlooked. Studies show regularly practicing mindfulness can boost working memory, improve focus, decrease emotional reactivity, improve cognitive flexibility, and improve relationships. It’s a win-win!
- Use Food as your Fuel
Your gut is your second brain and staying mindful of what (and how) you eat can help tremendously. Fueling your brain and body with the right foods can produce serotonin and provide much needed vitamins and nutrients to help you keep performing at your best during busy times.
A recent national poll concluded 77% of respondents would like to eat a healthier diet; however, in addition to cost and lack of knowledge, stress eating and lack of preparation time – two areas heavily affecting HR professionals during open enrollment – often prevent healthy eating. It’s important to remember that, during times like these, the right food can take care of everything from your bones to your nervous system. Make sure you are taking time to enjoy your meals and heal your body from the inside out with healthy, nutritious options.
Pro-Tip: Meal prepping can help make it easy to stay on track with your healthy eating goals. Additionally, taking note of how you feel when you are filling yourself with nutritious options versus those sugary donuts in the breakroom can help make it easier to maintain.
- Manage Stress
In the past few years, studies show that 98% of HR professionals are “burned out”. Now is the perfect time to put stress management techniques that you’ve likely been trained on (or even provided to employees) into practice. Don’t allow your wellness to waver in high-stress times – instead schedule self-care time for yourself to help prevent and better manage high-stress situations and be sure to separate work and home. Consider keeping a journal or record of how you’re feeling, what challenges you are facing, or where you’d like to improve.
Most importantly, if you’re feeling burned out, depressed, or too overwhelmed to focus – seek help. Be your own advocate, don’t do disservice to yourself.
After Open Enrollment Ends
Congratulations, you made it! Take a sigh of relief and give yourself credit for making it through yet another Open Enrollment. Once the dust settles, it’s time to refocus on you.
- Practice Self-Care
While you likely take immense pride in your work, that doesn’t discount the stress or burnout you may be feeling. Decompressing and taking some time to put work worries up on a shelf can help you re-center and re-focus. For a good chunk of time, your role had you heavily focused on employees and their needs. Now it’s your turn! Try to deliberately practice routines that will improve your own physical, emotional, and mental health.
But how? What should self-care look like? Consider setting boundaries that won’t disrupt your well-being by:
- Taking time off: If you are able, taking a day or two off can help you get back in tune with yourself – outside of your job.
- Moving your body: Explore your neighborhood on foot or bike, take up exercises that zone in on mindfulness, or get back to your fitness routine that you may have brushed off during open enrollment.
- Confiding in your community – Consult with like-minded individuals in your profession, seek out their suggestions, and check in on how they are feeling. This social connection can provide strength and comfort for one another.
Remember where you started and use this time to continue to build your healthy habits. Self-care is not selfish, it’s essential – especially after times like this!
- Assess What Did and Didn’t Work: Now is the most crucial time to evaluate results, successes, and improvements; not only for open enrollment in general but also for your personal health. Take what you learned this year and prepare to make any necessary changes for next year.
For your own health and well-being, reference your previous journal or notes you were taking during open enrollment of what went well, what you’d like to repeat, and what could be improved upon. What were your strengths, weaknesses, or blind spots? Be honest with yourself and see what you could do more (or less) of in order to continue working towards optimal health and wellness.
While Open Enrollment is stressful for employers and employees alike, it doesn’t have to be. Being prepared and staying mindful of your health and wellness during this knowingly busy time can help keep your wellness in check and ensure you continue progressing towards your goals. Adopting proactive strategies to manage stress, workload, and wellness not only helps you show up for yourself but also helps you show up for everyone else.
Want more tips and tricks to help you maintain your health and wellness? Follow Marquee Health on LinkedIn.
Liked what you read and want to support your employees in improving their health and wellness too? Contact us today to see how we can help.