A healthier workplace

We’ve all been there – you know you’ve been sitting down for too long, but there just “isn’t time” to get up and move around. 

I saw a post on 10 tips on how to make your workplace more healthy and productive over on Mark’s Daily Apple and thought it had some great points to consider. Have a look at these points, and let me know what you think!

allthingsd.com

1. Walking meetings

“Why your boss should care: There’s reason to believe that walking meetings may be more productive that sit-down meetings, since walking has been shown to boost brain connectivity and function. Better functioning brains with better neural connectivity come up with better ideas.”

2. Standing workstations

“Why your boss should care: Since sitting kills, quite literally, and a dead workforce is an unproductive workforce, standing workstations may improve productivity (and increase liveliness). If the boss is concerned about standing affecting the quality of work, one study found that standing (or walking) workstations improved metabolic processes without hampering the quality of the work.”

3. Plants in the office

“Why your boss should care: Research shows that plants in the office can improve productivity, increase concentration, and make workers happier and less stressed. This effect is greatest among workers who spend more than four hours a day in front of a computer (sound familiar to anyone?).”

4. Start a healthy breakfast club

“Why your boss should care: Donuts and muffins elicit massive spikes in blood sugar, followed by a subsequent drop-off, while protein-and-fat-rich breakfasts result in steadier levels of blood sugar. Why does this matter? Steady blood sugar levels improve cognitive function.

5. Sponsored gym memberships

“Why your boss should care: What you might lose in gym fees (which you’ll get a great package deal on, no doubt), you’ll gain in savings on health care costs. Stronger, healthier, fitter employees are happier, more productive employees who are less liable to use sick days. Plus, you’ll kill the other office in the annual softball game. Oh, and you can probably even get some tax write-offs while you’re at it.#

6. Integrated exercise equipment in the office

“Why your boss should care: Intermittent bouts of exercise will keep workers alert, productive, and engaged. They won’t be “going to failure,” after all, but rather hitting a few reps here and there. Plus, healthy workers get sick less often and use less health care.”

7. Fitness challenges

“Why your boss should care: Whenever you get people together in an enclosed space, rivalries and politics and pettiness will arise. By channeling all that energy into fitness-related competition, you can avoid the office politics that are the downfall of many a workplace.

8. Start a walking club

“Why your boss should care: As mentioned above, walking improves cognitive function. Healthy, well-functioning brains do better work, which increases productivity. Plus, if your employees are consistently hitting 10,000 steps a day, they’re going to be healthier.

9. Office naps 

“Why your boss should care: Tired employees are less effective employees who produce subpar work. And long naps that take up valuable work time aren’t necessary, or even necessarily beneficial; one study found that a 10-minute power nap was the most recuperative compared to 20- and 30-minute naps.”

10. Lead by quiet example

“People like leaders. They like inconspicuous leaders even more, the people who lead by example rather than by decree. Because none of us are experts in everything, we need people to look up to for motivation, for instruction. If you’re just a healthy person (…) there’s a strong chance you’ll be one of those inconspicuous leaders without even trying.”

So, now over to you: which of these do you think would improve your working place? Or, even, do you have any of these in place already?

(You can read the whole article here!)