Preety Tyagi was a student of IIN, Institute of Integrative Nutrition, New York. She is very passionate about health issues and wants to change people’s perspectives towards the word, Disease. She wants to impact as many people in a positive and healthy way as possible. Being educated in Commerce and after attaining a degree in MBA in marketing, what drove her towards health and nutrition education was that she wanted to learn more and more about nutrition and how it impacts our health. After finding solutions and healing her health issues and after solving her family’s health issues just through proper diets and healthy nutrition, she started health coaching as a career and has been able to help many people in different countries, through health coaching now.
Working women juggle a lot of tasks on their two hands and it is often the burden of managing their personal as well as professional demands, they find themselves more and more stressed out. Studies show that working women are found to be more stressed out than the working men. Especially women between the age bracket 30- 50 were found to be the most stressed. That clearly reflects that the juggling between personal life and professional life, women end up feeling almost burned and drained out.
Also, the work from home scenario during the pandemic has hit the women in the worst way. Women found themselves tied between home responsibilities, with the kids and dependants being home all the time, and taking the work responsibilities simultaneously. So, the stress levels soared higher for women once again, with the work from home scenario.
There are many reasons that can lead to excessive stress for the women, however, there are some steps that can be taken to avoid this and to make the work life balance better-
– Women should realize that having it all and being able to manage it all, easily is a far fetched dream. There is no harm in slowing down and taking a step back from some responsibilities. For example, hiring someone to look after the kids in your absence, or hiring a cook to cater to all the food requirements of the household. Any help in any sphere of life must be acquired at the time of need and shouldnt be delayed.
– Sometimes, it all begins at home. Diving the household chores amongst the family members evenly such as dividing clear descriptions of which jobs should be undertaken by the husband, which jobs must be entirely taken up by the children and other members of the family, as the case maybe. It’s extremely important to divide the jobs and adhere to teamwork at home, just like we do at a work environment. In the same way.
– Make it a point to indulge in some kind of physical workout on a regular basis. Having an active lifestyle is a must in order to lead a stress free life. When our body works out, it releases the endorphins, which are important chemical substances, also funnily known as happiness endorphins. Its almost like achieving a feeling of high, after breaking the body with the workout and perspiring well. It may sound like another task to be added to your schedule but will provide immense health benefits and leave you feeling less stressed and more energetic. Adding an early morning workout to your daily life, suddenly sets you up for a healthy and happy start to your day.
– Along with the workout, take care of your nutritional requirements. Often it is found that women are found to be low on many essential vitamins and minerals and that just leaves them feeling exhausted and feeling low emotionally. Eating healthy, uplifts your mood especially when you provide a focus to a gut healthy lifestyle. 90% of important brain enzymes, such as serotonin, are produced in our gut. When the gut is not in a healthy state, it cannot lead to a healthy and happy body. Make sure to have your well balanced diet, with proteins, carbs, fats, essential minerals such as iron, potassium, calcium etc. Provide the body with the nourishment it requires to function well, and see the difference. At the same time, avoid caffeine and alcohol abuse to avoid stress.
– Go for regular blood tests and screenings and make sure that your levels are in check. This will ensure that you are healthy from within and the stress is not induced due to any internal factor that the body may be struggling from.
– Self Care should not be ignored or looked at as a selfish act. It is extremely important for women to take out time, go for that much needed massage, take a coffee break, catch up with a friend on the weekend, spend quality time with loved ones. It’s not just important, it is almost a responsibility of every woman, towards her own self to be able to provide herself the care she needs.
– Most importantly, be gentle and patient with yourself. Don’t rush into everything. Take your time, take a break, think and analyze and make the best decisions for yourself to be able to release all your stress.
Some steps must always be taken into consideration at the workplace too. Such as-
– Flexibility should be provided to the employees and it should be made clear that the job done well is required to be appreciated regardless of the time spent at the job. This will help boost their morale and make their work feel valued.
– There shouldn’t be any disparity in the work environment based on any factor. There should be equal opportunities, equal pay and equality in all spheres for people, to have a healthy work environment.
All this, when undertaken collectively, can lead to a low stress environment for the women at work.