Be Mindful of Your Health at Work

The office can be a stressful environment, and sitting still for so long can be hard to handle in terms of both physical and mental wellbeing. Some employees can experience health problems or depression, dissatisfaction, and generally negative emotions. Listed below are a few tips to help your staff avoid the feeling of being unsatisfied by their static jobs.

Stand Up
The average office worker will annually spend around 2,000 hours at their desk; that’s around a quarter of the year just sitting. With technology being so prevalent in the workplace, around 85 percent of American workers require a screen to do their job, and it causes substantial damage to the body. Sitting down can place people at high risk of muscular-skeletal disorders, diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart disease, and so much more. Working out often isn’t enough to offset the damage done, either; in sectors where long hours are required, users might not even have the time to make it happen. Changing it up every now and then can add several years back to your life. If you can’t avoid sitting all day at your office, then take proactive measures by improving your posture, which can make all the difference in preventing problems like arthritis and bursitis.

Eat Properly
Sedentary life has its own share of problems that are only further fueled by failing to eat properly. Fast food and high-carb or high-fat diets can result in obesity and heart disease. Foods high in omega-3s and monounsaturated fats can help lower your cholesterol; examples of these include nuts, fish, and avocados.

The best way to steer clear of putting on extra weight is to be more mindful of what you eat. For breakfast, you should begin with a meal of yogurt, fruit, or oats, then supplement any cravings with nuts, wholegrain crackers, and more fruit until you get to lunchtime. For lunch, you want to ingest foods high in protein and low in carbs, followed by low-carb snacks as needed in the afternoon. Dinner can often be a challenge; some workers don’t get home until late in the evening. Still, avoid eating dinner too late because it will have a negative impact on your metabolism.

Safeguard Your Mental Health
Today's office tests the limits of the average worker’s mental health. It’s imperative for a worker who spends the majority of their life working to feel some semblance of fulfillment from their job. There are those who routinely put in more hours of the daily grind at the office than they do getting a good night’s sleep. According to the Center for Disease Control, one in every three people don’t get enough sleep. The average adult’s ideal night of sleep is at least seven hours for maximum wellbeing and health. Still, sometimes even a good night’s rest and a proper diet aren’t good enough for those who are under a massive amount of stress on a daily basis.

Stress is known as a silent killer that takes many forms. It can be placed on one by themselves, but it also comes from external factors in the workplace, such as demands from clients or coworkers. In some instance, it can even come from machines, like the workstations that we all use on a daily basis, especially when they don’t act properly.

Stress is a significant problem for employers to deal with, too. A study by Harvard and Stanford in 2016 found that two out of three workers claim to be “always, often, or sometimes” taking part in unhealthy behaviors, like drinking or crying, as a result of the stress they feel from their job. Coupled with about 120,000 workplace deaths linked to workplace stress annually, it’s no surprise that mental health isn’t as high a priority as it should be.

Another study conducted by Mental Health America found major stressors included money troubles, as well as a lack of recognition and satisfaction with their jobs. 71 percent of these respondents also indicated that they were actively seeking new job opportunities. Without any change to company culture, this kind of stress could have a disastrous effect on a business and its workforce.

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