Vocational health at Ultivate focuses on enhancing our capacity to cultivate personal satisfaction and fulfilment from our work and occupational endeavours.
The average number of hours that the average human spends at work varies depending on the country and the individual's job. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the average full-time worker in the United States works around 34.4 hours per week. In comparison, the average full-time worker in Germany works around 25.9 hours per week. It's worth noting that this is just an average and the number of hours worked per week can vary greatly depending on the individual's job and work schedule.
Intellectual enrichment like this can help us create life balance, and positively impact the organisations we participate in and the communities we help shape. Intellectually enriched practices, like work related behaviour, are linked to cerebral efficiency and increasing our cognitive reserve.
This means that work-related behaviour can be good for brain health.
Vocational psychology studies the connection between human behavior and work-related issues, focusing on how changes to the workplace can improve mental health and job performance for employees. At Ultivate, this includes analyzing the impact of interpersonal dynamics, cognitive processes, and behavioral patterns on individuals' psychosocial well-being.
When a holistic clinician looks to assess the psychological health of an individual, we generally look at three main domains of human performance:
personal functioning
social functioning
vocational/work/professional functioning.
These are the three areas of human performance are directly impacted by our environment daily thoughts, behaviours and emotions.
Our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions have a significant impact on our personal, social, and work performance. Positive thoughts, behaviors, and emotions can lead to increased motivation, better decision making, improved relationships, and greater success in achieving goals. On the other hand, negative thoughts, behaviors, and emotions can lead to decreased motivation, poor decision making, and difficulty in maintaining relationships and achieving goals. Additionally, our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions are interconnected and can influence each other in a cyclical manner, which can either reinforce positive or negative patterns of thinking, behaving and feeling.
In 2013, during my time at Bond University, I formed part of a research team that looked at the role that certain lifestyle factors played on cognitive health. This research revolutionised my perspective on what it means to have real brain health. Brain health had so much to do with the way we relate to our daily personal, social and vocational practices.
Since then, I have been an avid advocate of how socially and intellectually enriched practices (life style factors) help the modern human maintain good brain health and prevent the early onset of mental illness. I am a first-hand witness of how work-related behaviour mitigates mental illness whilst improving work place results. With my tools box full and ready to launch, I've decided we need more of this science accessible in the life of our workplaces, home and community; the public needs to know more!
"Psychological science should not just be accessible to us in the room of a psychology clinic. Our capacity to cultivate psychological health should be accessible to us at home, in our community and the workplace. You and I can make this happen".
Andy Solange, Founder and Australian Psychologist
Psychological health in this arena of human development can be achieved at the micro and macro levels of the workplace and the community; by introducing evidence-based stress-management practices, interpersonal skills such as assertive communication, resolution capacity and more.
Ultivate offers a range of work-focused programs for individuals and teams seeking to address vocational stress and improve professional or team outcomes. These programs use cognitive, behavioural, and vocational psychology principles designed to enhance workplace health and professional performance. Ultivate programs are cost-effective, safe, dynamic, action-focused and engaging. These are research-based and conducted by a Board Approved Registered Australian Psychologist equipped to improve and enhance human performance.
Join Ultivate Psychological Health on this mission to use intellectually and socially enriched practices to boost human performance, not just in the workplace, but also in our relationships and the way we relate to the world around us.
You may not realise this, but everything you do helps build the community you live and work in.
In short, this is how the holistic vision of Ultivate Psychological Health was born. Ultivate seeks to draw in individuals, leaders and teams that don't just seek to receive more from themselves and their organisation, but also have a desire to give more! To give more to them selves, their employees, their leaders and to the communities they inhabit. Ultivate supports clients and leadership teams to have a clear depiction of their project's vision, mission, and values. Evidence has found that a clear vision, mission and well-defined values draw a team together to achieve more. Values have been found to inspire and motivate individuals. Shared values and a shared vision help us work through presenting conflicts because we know we need each other to get the outcomes we seek. So with this in mind, concepts and practices like transformational leadership, interpersonal excellence, resilience, mindfulness, personality development, emotional intelligence, non-violent communication among others, Ultivate supports individuals and the workplace to achieve more and go further as individuals and as a team.
“Research shows that mentally healthy workers are more productive and less likely to take sick leave. Mentally healthy workplaces are positive and productive. They are environments where people want to come to work". Mentally healthy workplaces are good for people and businesses
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FYI
Why not register your interest to participate in Ultivate's 2022 Psychological Health Day Program to be held in Brisbane, Queensland. As part of Ultivate's psychosocial wellness initiative, a series of free talks and workshops are offered throughout the year. These online and in-person events are tailored for the community to learn about preventative models that promote vocational, social and personal health.
If you feel uncertain about booking an online appointment, you can request a free 15-minute consultation by clicking on the link below. This is a great way to determine if this service is right for you or your team.
Medicare Rebates may be available for individuals experiencing stress that has begun to impair their work, personal or social performance.
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