Navigating Competing Concerns and the Value of Real Rest
In a post-COVID world, organisational leaders are challenged to rethink the traditional notion of work-life balance. With a renewed focus on mental health, there is a growing realisation that life is a journey to be enjoyed throughout your time on earth, not just upon retirement, prompting individuals to question their values and priorities.
This difference in focus has been particularly evident between different generations in the corporate space, where the older generation emphasises working hard to play hard, while the younger generation seeks meaning and purpose in work. Post-COVID, the understanding of ‘life is short’ has led to a desire for meaning and purpose for all generations and in all spaces of their lives.
To understand rest, one must try to define what this actually means because it is far more doing “nothing” or very little.
Defining Rest
Rest is a multi-faceted concept encompassing various dimensions, each catering to different aspects of an individual’s well-being. Here are the different types of rest:
Physical Rest:
Physical rest involves allowing the body to recuperate and rejuvenate. This includes sleep, napping, and taking breaks during the day. Reference: Walker, M. (2017). Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Scribner.
Mental Rest:
Mental rest involves centres on giving the mind a break from cognitive activities and stimuli. This can be achieved through meditation, mindfulness, or a mental break. Reference: Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. Delta.
Spiritual Rest:
Spiritual rest involves activities that provide a sense of connection, purpose, and inner peace. This may include meditation, prayer, or engaging in activities that align with one’s values. Reference: Emmons, R. A. (2000). Is Spirituality an Intelligence? Motivation, Cognition, and the Psychology of Ultimate Concern. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 10(1), 3-26.
Creative Rest:
Creative rest involves intentionally, and temporarily taking a step back from tasks that require innovation and problem-solving. It allows the mind to recharge and foster new ideas.
Creative rest entails activities like taking breaks from work, pursuing hobbies, and engaging in enjoyable creative activities such as drawing, painting, knitting, or cooking. This intentional pause allows our minds to explore new ideas, fostering inspiration and sustaining motivation. Reference: Mindful Health Solutions
Emotional Rest:
Emotional rest involves prioritising self-care to recharge from intense emotions. This may include mindfulness, journaling, or activities that bring solace, promoting emotional well-being and resilience.
Social Rest:
Social rest focuses on rejuvenating by temporarily withdrawing from social interactions. It includes solitude, self-reflection, or individual activities to restore energy and mental balance.
Sensory Rest:
Sensory rest aims to alleviate the impact of sensory overload. This involves creating quiet spaces, reducing stimuli, or embracing natural environments, promoting relaxation and mental clarity.
With the above, it’s now easier to understand why we may feel we need more time to feel rested when our team or we take breaks. We must identify what is important to us and what ‘rest’ is required to refuel that area of our lives.
Competing Concerns and Blind Spots:
Heidegger’s insight that at the heart of being human, we are always taking care of our concerns (what matters to us) underscores the challenge of navigating competing concerns. Many individuals may be blind to what matters most to them, leading to interesting nuances and tensions as we navigate choices.
For instance, the desire to be good, fair, and kind may conflict with the need to say no to helping a colleague when your plate is overflowing. It may be vital for you to give your family all your attention over the weekend, but you may feel a sense of conflict when you are asked to take on additional work. We are triggered into saying ‘yes’ without hesitation. Therefore, identifying and negotiating these concerns is essential to respond vs react.
Real rest emerges as a crucial factor in workplace productivity and well-being. Drawing inspiration from practices in Japan, where workplaces feature mattresses to enhance productivity, the article explores the medical evidence supporting the need for genuine rest. Without adequate rest, individuals become less connected and resourceful.
A particular Nabantu client noticed that their creative director had the best ideas while cycling, so they encouraged more activities around cycling. This created space for their creative director to re-energise while the company benefited from the creative output. With this in mind and understanding the various types of rest, we can see the correlation between rest and recharging and why intentionally creating a workplace culture that encourages rest is non-negotiable.
Rest in the workplace can be created and should be encouraged as a daily practice; it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. Rooted in an ontological approach with its focus on the role of the body, it is possible to incorporate short body practices that release stress and re-energise and refocus individuals between meetings. These need not take more than 2-5 minutes at a time. Some practices based on biologically proven data can be brought in to create a culture of rest.
Promoting a Culture and Rest
Business leaders are pivotal in cultivating a workplace culture that values and prioritises genuine rest. So why do leaders and employees feel guilty when taking time off to recharge? First, understand that guilt is an emotion that drains us and brings no solution. Guilt can be managed by the conversations we have. Practically, it starts with the following:
- Understand what’s going on for yourself and your team. Identify what it is that is needed.
- Have the conversations to understand what individuals need; no ‘one size fits all’ exists.
- Understand the quality of the conversations and how you could have them differently.
- Have conversations about competing concerns.
- Reprioritse for yourself and your team based on what needs to be done before you take your time off.
- Be aware of the language and conversations once people return to the workplace. For instance, making remarks on problems that could have been solved earlier or projects that could have been launched if your colleague were at work is unhealthy and instils unnecessary guilt.
Overcoming Guilt and Stigma:
Many workplace leaders may grapple with guilt over taking time off. Part of the work that Nabantu does within organisations centres on the four quadrants that constitute the “self:”
These quadrants include:
- Inner Me: Self-awareness, values, vision, internal language, and perception.
- Environment: Engagement with the outside world, including work.
- Relationships: Interpersonal connections.
- Body: Physical well-being.
In an ideal world, each quadrant receives 25%. Our reality dictates otherwise. For instance, prioritising study may temporarily shift focus. Acknowledging these shifts emphasises the importance of conversations to ensure quality time with family, identifying non-negotiables like anniversaries. It also asks whether we are supporting our bodies to support us in delivering, which includes getting enough rest.
Competing concerns, ever-present in life, echo Susan Scott’s concept in “Fierce Conversations”, who stated, “Never be afraid of the conversations you are having. Be afraid of the conversations you are not having.”
When managing projects effectively to avoid burnout, it must be said that the only effective time management hinges on navigating competing concerns. There often aren’t clear or easy choices, so it becomes about how we have the conversations that negotiate these.
Future-Forward Practices:
In the aftermath of COVID, there’s this noticeable push from corporations for a return to the office. However, there’s a shared acknowledgement that the future lies in a hybrid workspace. As for the trends we are noticing, the advent of a global work visa gives you the green light to work from anywhere globally. It’s a game-changer.
This is making waves internationally, and it boils down to understanding oneself for effective self-management. We’ve got to get honest about the fact that people are different. Rest, purpose in their work, and enjoyment of their journey through life are different for everyone. No more blanket management – it just doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s time to live a life by design. That means having those honest conversations to craft a work and life setup that genuinely works for you and your team, which will differ from one organisation to the next. It means understanding which sacrifices you are willing to make and the ROI for doing that.
