Making Your Team’s Well-being a Top Priority

Since the onset of the pandemic, our personal and professional lives have been turned upside down in ways we could never have imagined. In addition to adopting rigorous health & safety protocols and procedures in our practices, we also go above and beyond in our daily interactions with our patients to ensure they feel safe and supported while in our care. But what about our own well-being? It is essential that we prioritize our own mental health and well-being so we can continue to provide exceptional care to our patients. The adage of putting on our own oxygen masks before helping others has never been more important.

Below are a few useful ways to incorporate team wellness into your daily operations.

Informal check-ins – Taking the time to ask how your team members are doing in both their personal and professional lives shows that you care and have an interest in their well-being. Reaching out in this way can sometimes lead to people opening up and admitting when they aren’t coping very well. Be sure to know what supportive resources are available if they are open to getting help or speaking to a professional.

Morning huddles – Including a wellness check-in during a morning huddle is a great way to start the day and normalizes discussing well-being at the practice. Allowing the team to share a quick update on their weekend or kids’ homeschooling will help team members to open up and start their day a little less bogged down with the tasks and processes they need to follow. Leaders who show vulnerability and admit when they aren’t feeling all that positive set the stage for the rest of the team to do the same.

Building team positivity – Sharing impactful stories of positive patient outcomes or recent patient feedback can connect team members in a meaningful way. Recognizing individuals who have role modelled quality care, teamwork, or values, can help create a strong, positive team culture. Humour is the universal language of well-being and infusing a little light-hearted fun into daily operations is a great way to enhance positivity at the practice during challenging times.

It is important to remember that people we work with each and every day have personal struggles we know nothing about. So, remember to connect, engage, and empathize with your team members on a regular basis. We will get through this better together.

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