Occupation, Health, and Wellbeing: A Healthcare Perspective

This essay examines the impact of various occupations on an individual's health and well-being, with a specific focus on the teaching profession. It discusses the potential for stress, health issues, and mental problems associated with different careers and highlights the importance of health and well-being programs for employees. The essay emphasizes the teaching profession as one that promotes engagement and offers positive aspects such as being a role model and a generally less toxic work environment. It also explores the role of occupational therapy practitioners in addressing health concerns and promoting healthy behaviors. The analysis includes a discussion of occupational performance analysis and the use of coaching and adaptation techniques to help individuals navigate challenges in their professions and maintain a successful and fulfilling life. The conclusion reiterates the significance of occupational therapies in understanding and addressing the pressures of a career to ensure an individual's overall well-being.

Running head: OCCUPATION
Occupation
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

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Introduction:
People who are engaged in a profession can sometimes suffer from problems of stress,
health and mental problems and due to this the employees need to take part in health and well
being programs. These lead to improved morale, is responsible for better team work and
productivity, reduced amount of absenteeism from work higher job satisfaction and most
importantly stronger amount of engagement in the work. Often it so happens that individuals lose
interest in work and then it becomes necessary for them to reinvest their interest in their existing
occupation.
Profession which enables an individual to remain engaged throughout the lifespan:
The profession which guarantees highest amount of engagement is that of teaching. The
teaching profession helps the individual become:
 Motivated towards his or her work
 Provides a chance for being a role model to the children who are the students
 Usually dirty politics and toxic work environment is absent
 The student’s achievement is a moment of pride for the teacher (Ford et al. 2014)
Impact of an occupation on an individual’s health:
Often it happens that an occupation has a toll on an individual’s health and they require
occupational theory practitioners in order to focus on the concerns which they have to develop
healthy behaviours to remain in a state of improved health and reduce any chances of health
problems. The teaching profession is one of the best professions to engage in as teaching allows
the individual to learn and always remain in contact to children which in turn helps him or her to

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remain in connection to the simplistic pleasures of life (Taylor 2017). By focussing on the
occupational performance the practitioners of occupational theory helps the clients in becoming
actively involved in the activities of one’s life. In the occupational theory client centred and
family centred practice and services span from the agency or the institution to the community
(Fawcett 2013).
The occupational therapist utilises the self reflection procedures to help the client
understand which segment of the profession contributes to the creation of problems and other
engagement issues and thus explore the individuals’ preferences in order to help him or her
choose a different profession to lead a better stress-free life.
Occupational performance analysis:
The occupational performance analysis caters to the pin-pointed understanding of the
problems arising in the profession so as to remain undeterred by the challenges of the profession
and emerge successful. It provides meaning and also contributes to the overall health and well
being of an individual and is reflective of the culture and the cultural values. The coaching
techniques help the individual engage and sustain growth or changes and adaptation techniques
are congruent with the person’s level or ability (Eeckhout and Jovanovic 2012).
Conclusion:
Majority of individuals, especially career driven ones need to be involved with a
particular profession in order to sustain themselves in their lives. Often the profession might pose
severe amount of pressure and cause the individual’s well being and peace of mind to be

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hampered. This needs to be ensured with the help of occupational therapies to understand the
root cause and ultimately carry on with life successfully.

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References:
Eeckhout, J. and Jovanovic, B., 2012. Occupational choice and development. Journal of
Economic Theory, 147(2), pp.657-683.
Fawcett, A.L., 2013. Principles of assessment and outcome measurement for occupational
therapists and physiotherapists: theory, skills and application. John Wiley & Sons.
Ford, M.T., Matthews, R.A., Wooldridge, J.D., Mishra, V., Kakar, U.M. and Strahan, S.R., 2014.
How do occupational stressor-strain effects vary with time? A review and meta-analysis of the
relevance of time lags in longitudinal studies. Work & Stress, 28(1), pp.9-30.
Taylor, R.R., 2017. Kielhofner's Research in Occupational Therapy: Methods of Inquiry for
Enhancing Practice. FA Davis.
Umeda, C.J., Fogelberg, D.J., Jirikowic, T., Pitonyak, J.S., Mroz, T.M. and Ideishi, R.I., 2017.
Expanding the Implementation of the Americans With Disabilities Act for Populations With
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: The Role of Organization-Level Occupational
Therapy Consultation. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(4), pp.7104090010p1-
7104090010p6.