Maintaining Employee Personal Wellness

Personal Wellness is not one one size fits at all. While how we choose to practice self-care may differ from person-to-person, we all share the same core aspects of personal health: physical, emotional, social, and financial.

At AT&T, one of our top priorities is the health and wellbeing of our team. That means offering the resources to care for all four aspects of wellness. We asked employees their strategies for staying well and taking advantage of the benefits that help do it.

Physical Wellbeing

Physical wellbeing is all about taking care of your body. From maintaining a healthy diet to exercising frequently, physical fitness is often the first thing we think of when we talk about wellness. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, going for an evening walk after work, and other simple activities can go a long way. Our Dallas and Atlanta offices have on-site fitness centers so you don’t have to go far to fit in a quick workout.

Area Retail Sales Manager, Nate Thacker, says his inspiration for staying fit is his son. “My son is my world, I want to make sure I’m around to see him grow up.”

It wasn’t until a friend encountered some poor health problems that made Nate understand how serious physical health is. Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. Nate and his team often take an early morning cycle class; “It’s a great opportunity to bond as a team and hold each other accountable for our health.”

Emotional Wellbeing

For Staff Associate, Valeriano Onia in Technical Care, staying active can also have a positive effect on emotions.

Emotional wellbeing can be difficult for some to define, but often we end up doing it without realizing it. Focusing on emotional health means taking stock of how you are feeling. Are you stressed? Do you have anxiety? These are normal feelings and can be addressed. Utilizing AT&T’s Employee Assistance Program to match you with a virtual or in-person counselor is a great start. Sometimes that first step can be smaller. For Valeriano, it’s taking a walk to clear his mind.

“Taking a short walk alleviates the anxieties that I feel and reduces negative emotions, giving me the power to hold onto positive emotions for longer and appreciate the good things in my life — with the aid of fresh air and an idyllic view.”

The physical health of your mind – memory, information processing, and cognition – is also important to consider when talking about emotional wellbeing. Staying mentally healthy is all about balance according to Professional-Applications Developer, Alex Martin.

“Mental health requires different needs to ensure it gets stronger and more resilient, much like exercising. When it becomes more resilient, you are able to properly address stressors and trauma as it impacts your life. It makes you fully able to tackle what is given to you on a daily basis.”

Social Wellbeing

Being social is a basic need for all of us, even us introverts. Whether it’s grabbing a coffee with friends or cheering at a sporting event with thousands, it’s important to share experiences with others. Spending time with friends and family can do amazing things for us mentally. Just ask Employer Brand Manager, Cassi Bond.

“It’s an overused metaphor (but, yes, I’m still going to use it) that being around people helps ‘fill your cup.’ I thought I was thriving in pandemic isolation until I was able to be around more than my immediate family again. I quickly realized how empty I had been feeling without the interaction. I wasn’t filling my social energy cup. It was like watching the swimming pool slowly drain at the end of the summer: depressing. Seeing coworkers and friends in person allows me to exchange my good vibes with theirs and refill both of our cups.”

Financial Wellbeing

Finances may not be the first thing we think of when we think of “personal wellness,” but they can be just as impactful to how we feel. Finances have been tied to stress and anxiety. It’s a fact of life, that we need money to function, and it often supports or inhibits the other aspects of wellbeing.

As Caitlin Davis, Lead Communication & PR Manager, told us, “Financial wellness is important for me because it directly impacts my stress levels and life decisions. Understanding the impact of my financial decisions both short term and long term gives me confidence.

It’s more than just having enough money. It’s about developing skills to make wise decisions with your money so that when life hits — and it always does — you feel more equipped and a little less stressed than you would’ve without these skills.”

How did Caitlin develop those skills? By taking advantage of financial planning benefits offered by AT&T. Our financial planning partners give our employees access to budget planning, professional portfolio management, educational resources, and one-on-one consulting.

Finding that balance with all four aspects of wellbeing is the best way to achieve optimal personal health.

“If you think of these different aspects of wellbeing as being part of a well-oiled machine. If — you — and any one of the components isn’t running optimally, how efficient is your machine?” adds Alex Martin.

Keep your machine running with the support of your family, friends, coworkers, and the multitude of benefits AT&T has to offer.