Self care is about spending the minutes, moments, hours and days of your life in a way that's consistent with the things and people you care about. And there's good research on this that sure, sometimes taking care of our kids, taking care of people that we care about that are sick, those things feel stressful in the moment,. But theye are exactly the kinds of things in our lives that give us meaning and purpose and a sense of belonging.
Despite what we see on Instagram, self-care isn’t just about face masks and massages (although those are nice). It’s about spending your time, including your workday, in ways that prioritize the things and people you care about. Studies show that this kind of self-care makes us happier and more focused in our jobs.
But it can be a challenge to take care of ourselves when we’re on deadline, traveling too much, or reporting to a boss who emails at all hours. We speak with researcher Ashley Whillans about how managers can model healthy habits and how employees can make time to practice them. Ashley shares a personal experience about what happens when we don’t prioritize self-care, while Amy G. gets a firsthand lesson in an airport.
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Our theme music is Matt Hill’s “City In Motion,” provided by Audio Network.