GoferBroke

The benefits of a ‘wellbeing job’

I’ll be honest, I struggled through lockdown; stuck at home and staring at a screen all day with only Zoom for company.
Having said that, I won’t knock Zoom; I have made so many meaningful connections with people I could never have imaged getting to know without it. However, I’ve missed company and the opportunities to engage with a real person on the other side of the room; that sense checking. While I’ve achieved a lot and helped a number of people, I’ve missed that gut feeling of knowing you’ve really supported someone in real time.

Now, somewhere in my C.V. is a time when I worked at a canal marina in Wales and it suddenly seemed sensible to see if I could do it again at a marina local to me here.
So, I now have a casual weekend job on the canal that I describe as my ‘wellbeing job’. I’m out in the open, surrounded by greenery, water and wildlife; I’m meeting plenty of friendly people and helping them set out on their holidays and I am also getting free gym sessions as I leap from boat to boat and hump gas bottles about. (Though I do seem to spend an inordinate amount of time pumping toilets out 😊)

Yes, it has made a difference; I can reflect on what I’ve achieved during the working week in a completely different way and there is a definite feeling of being recharged. It is also simply great to be outside, I’ve always had an interest in the environment (which links to my Adventure Training qualifications and experience) so it is so refreshing to see the iridescent flash of a kingfisher, or to hear the unmistakeable, and all too rare, call of the cuckoo.

I cannot overrate the value of a wellbeing job. I realise not everyone will be in the same position, but there are so many opportunities out there to volunteer with organisations that would meet whatever need you felt. Whether working directly in the community, working on environmental projects or in heritage restoration.

I’ve put some useful links to identify a suitable volunteering opportunity in the Comments below.
If you are a business owner, who’d like some support in building relations with a local voluntary organisation, let me know.