Improve Your Health at Work

Today’s business environment can be a harsh place, and in addition to being difficult to cope with, it can also negatively impact your health.  Check out this eye-opening research courtesy of U.S. News and World Report’s Liz Wolgemuth and learn what you can do to improve your situation.

Stop eating at your desk

According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, workers who sit at desks covered with crumbs from the last few weeks of lunches may be typing on keyboards and touching spaces that have mouse droppings.  If infested fingers come near your mouth, there's a good chance you'll get sick.

Add plants to your area

A Washington State University study measured the effects of indoor plants on students performing a slightly stressful computer-based task in a university computer lab. When researchers decorated the lab with indoor plants, they found that their subjects' reactions were 12 percent quicker on the task, and their systolic blood pressure fell.

Improve your posture

A study last year by researchers from the Teesside University School of Health and Social Care in England found that sitting on a stability ball does not provide any benefit to seating posture over sitting on the standard desk chair. A different study on the proper position of your desk chair found that sitting up straight is not ideal—rather, leaning your chair back at a 135 degree angle is best.

Reduce overtime as much as possible

Working three to four hours of overtime a day is bad for your heart, according to a study published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.

Request a flexible work arrangement

The benefits of a controllable work schedule are great, even for non-parents. A recent Cochrane review of 10 studies found that control over one's own work hours yielded health benefits in areas such as blood pressure and sleep.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

Comments

[Natalie Loopbaanadvies]

Great post. Thank you for sharing this interesting information. Those are really helpful tips. Nowadays, workers can't afford to be sick or their work would be greatly affected. Work environment should be good, so an employer can work comfortably.