Small Changes; Big Impact
EIGHT BAD HABITS THAT SHOULD BE BANNED FROM THE WORKPLACE FOREVER
By Leigh Stringer
health & wellness
Over the years, we have developed workstyles that are not
good for our physical, mental or emotional health. It’s not
that we’re bad people, or that we aren’t working hard. The
problem is that we are so focused on work and on getting
things done that we’ve changed the way we eat, move and sleep in a
way that is actually counter-productive. What our minds and bod-ies
need at a basic level is in conflict with our work style.
Taking care of worker health and wellbeing is the most effec-tive
way to increase engagement and performance. It also saves the
company money.
Here is a list of the bad habits that need to be banned and what
to do instead.
1. Don’t assume that sitting in one place is the only way to
work. It’s not.
We’ve heard that sitting for long periods of time is bad for your
health. The issue isn’t that we sit; the issue is that many of us sit
and work without standing or walking for many hours at a time.
Walking on a treadmill desk for eight hours a day is not the an-swer,
either (at least for most of us). Instead, stand up every 30
minutes and walk around every hour and a half, even if it’s just for
a few minutes. Also, take phone calls, watch presentations, read
or perform other activities while standing up or even walking if it
makes sense for the task at hand.
2. Don’t put unhealthy foods front and centre at work.
You know how you walk into a grocery store and find yourself
buying junk food at the end of the aisle? Or have you noticed
how candy is located at child-eye level by the checkout counter?
Foods that are easy to spot and presented well are not put there
by accident, and food companies pay for the privilege. The secret
is “choice architecture,” a term for different ways in which choices
can be presented to consumers, and the impact of that presen-tation
on consumer decision-making. Don’t fall victim to this at
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HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ APRIL 2017 ❚ 37
