8 Best wellness tips for employees at the workplace
It is no secret that the modern work culture has become synonymous with stress and long hours in many parts of the world. The situation is so extreme that unless individuals compromise on their personal lives to perform well at work, achieving a sense of accomplishment is difficult.
Working in a competitive environment can quickly become hectic at times. All around the world, employees are usually under the constant pressure of performing and delivering for eight to ten hours every day. Everyone is dealing with the challenge of carrying out various activities and still aspiring to maintain a healthy work-life balance. However, when you work for long hours with your eyes on set goals, it is pretty easy to lose track of your mental and physical health.
Taking care of the health of oneself is an essential aspect of living life. But when a person works in the corporate sector or even an upcoming startup, stress can become a constant companion. And continuous pressure can even result in chronic illnesses such as diabetes.
Daily exercises, going to the gym, doing yoga, jogging, etc., can reduce the chance of getting infections, diabetes, cardiac diseases and even supports mental health. But when you work for eight to ten hours a day, maintaining a routine or a schedule for working out could be a real challenge.
Moreover, with the unprecedented times that the world has been going through, people all around the globe have been experiencing a wide range of emotions. With the arrival of the work-from-home culture, the personal has slowly crept its way into the professional. As a result, it is a critical necessity of the time for employees to take special care of their health and for the management to support them in this pursuit.
- Customize the workspace as per your convenience
The environment where a person works is critical in determining their efficiency and interest in the work. You are more likely to perform at optimum levels when the workplace supports a positive working environment and ensures that you are comfortable. Therefore, try and customize your desk or workstation according to your needs. Maybe think about what you ought to be looking at every time you raise your head or feel like taking a break.
Keep your desk systemized. Try to avoid making a mess of papers and documents. Instead, keep them at the correct place every time. A clean environment helps the person think clearly, avoid chaos in their mind, and boost productivity. Also, the idea of cleaning everything all at once could be hectic at the end of the day, and particularly unappealing against the idea of leaving for home.
- Focus on your posture
For professionals, working usually means spending an inordinate amount of time sitting on desks. Therefore, it is always wise to remember that an arched back is also the beginning of many diseases. In addition, it can wreak havoc on the body. The muscles and bones can get sore right after an hour or two. Also, the veins might get twisted, making the blood circulation a little slow. In the long term, such a routine can cause major chronic issues and deprive the individual of sleep.
One can quickly fix this by keeping their back straight. Choose the best chair, if possible, push it down to a proper height to face the computer directly without arching your back.
- Get up from the chair regularly.
When you are working on tight deadlines, it’s not always possible to take a detour away from the computer. However, when looking to stay healthy, one should try and make an effort to get up at regular intervals. Taking a break every half an hour is a good idea, but considering the usual work pressure in the modern workplace, it becomes highly unlikely. Therefore, employees should play with the intervals but make it a point to get up frequently.
Doing so can help employees ensure healthy blood circulation and prevent any serious issues. When away from the desk, the time can even be utilized to stretch the muscles in order to prevent cramps.
- Take care of your vision.
Computer-eye strain is something most people with spectacles are aware of. Dried eyes, sharp headaches, and blurry vision are a few of the many issues that can arise due to continuously staring at a screen. The weakening of the eyesight in the long term is the sour cherry on the cake.
Blinking, although underestimated, can be a great exercise for the eyes. Also, making it a point to look at something away from the computer’s screen every now and then may be a good idea. It gives a little rest to the eyes. Moreover, try to wash your eyes at regular intervals in order to reduce the pressure and keep the eyes cool.
- Keep a happy working environment.
Fights or misunderstandings at the workplace can have a huge negative impact on the mental as well as physical health of an individual. If there is a brawl or chaos in the workplace, it can even impact other people around and definitely do some damage to an individual’s professional reputation.
Keeping good relationships with people at the workplace is a tried and tested way of staying positive. These relationships can also make it easy to complete complex projects and tasks that require collaboration and help avoid unnecessary hassles and chaos. Therefore, make an attempt to foster healthy relationships while also ensuring that you do not cross any lines at the workplace.
- Keep a balanced diet.
Always eating from the cafeteria or consuming junk on a regular basis can affect the cholesterol and can increase the body fat percentage, eventually leading to cardiac issues, blood pressure interruptions, and even chronic obesity.
Try to avoid eating unhealthy food as much as possible. Always carry at least one lunch box with a healthy diet. Make sure you maintain a really good balance of carbs, proteins, vitamins, and a decent amount of fat that will boost your immunity and keep you healthy. The diet plan that you follow can be a huge factor in determining your attitude and performance at the workplace.
- Take leaves at regular intervals.
Take your week offs and planned leaves at regular intervals. This can help you stay fresh mentally and allow for enough time to recuperate. Take a breather from work-life whenever you can and try to concentrate on the short-term and long-term goals. Utilize these short breaks to maintain a healthy life outside of the workplace as well.
These leaves and breaks can help you get the unplugging that every professional needs from their work-life every now and then. Do not focus too much on achieving a fixed ratio between work hours and personal leisure. Instead, try to create a routine that works well for you.
- Try to walk as much as possible.
Take breaks when in the office and try to walk down the stairs. This is one of the most underestimated wellness tips. Utilizing any free time that you may get to step out for a bit and walk around can really help you boost your creativity and get energized.
If it’s not possible for you to step out of the workplace, try looking for alternatives. One can take a walk to the cafeteria, arrange for meetings while walking, etc.
A highly important part of performing well at the workplace is making sure that you are in the best shape – both mentally and physically. While performing well and meeting expectations is critical, it does not pay rich dividends to work too hard for a week ad then miss out on attending work for a month due to poor health. Therefore, make sure you follow the tips mentioned above and increase your chances of staying healthy in and out of the workplace without compromising on your productivity.