12 Wellness Tips for the Workplace – Prioritize Health.

Do you feel exhausted and burnt out every day after work? Are you having a hard time destressing even outside work because it already takes up your entire time? Working full-time can be mentally and physically draining. This is normal because jobs can be tiring, but if it is making you miserable every day, then it is time to consider improving your well-being at work. In this blog post, I’ve listed some wellness tips for the workplace that you can easily follow to make your working life more enjoyable.

Our health is mostly neglected in our current world, where most jobs require us to work 8+ hours. As long as we produce good outcomes, no one really cares about our well-being. If we’re being honest, even we don’t prioritize our health. As a result, we have a generation that has back pains and depression. 

Sitting down for hours in an enclosed space definitely takes a toll on our wellness. It causes poor heart health, spine problems, obesity, and/or depression. 

Our health is much more valuable than any product we produce. The good thing is there is an increasing number of employers who acknowledge this. But, if we can, we should do some things that can improve wellness in the workplace.

How to improve wellness in the workplace.

Since we spend a lot of time at work, it is important to incorporate healthy practices in our workplace. Here are 12 health and wellness tips that we can do in our workplaces.

1. Take a walk.

Due to advanced technology, we made some ways to walk less. We can ride something to get to our work. We also have elevators so we can avoid using the stairs even if we’re just one floor away. If we could roll our chair to get something, we would roll our chair. These little things may negatively affect our health and wellness. 

Walking doesn’t seem like a big deal but you’ll be surprised that it can greatly improve your health. Some of its benefits are increased muscle strength and endurance, reduced risk of heart disease and stroke, stronger bones, and a lot more. Just 30 minutes of walking can help us fight off the risks of a sedentary lifestyle.

Here are some ways we can walk more even if our jobs require us to sit all day: we can walk to our workplace if it’s just a few blocks away, park the car a few distances away, take the stairs, and take a stroll during our break.

2. Stand up once in a while.

At first thought, there’s nothing wrong with sitting. We’re comfortable and we’re not straining our bodies. But in the long term, as mentioned above, living a sedentary life can do more harm than good. 

Standing up once in a while sounds too easy. But, when we’re so focused on our tasks (or watching funny videos *wink*), we don’t notice that we’ve been sitting down for a long time. 

It will be helpful to set a reminder every 30 minutes so we won’t forget to stand up and stretch. It is also a good idea to take our eyes off the screen. We can use the Pomodoro timer, which is also helpful to fight off procrastination.

3. Meditate and rewire the brain.

Work can be so stressful, and it can negatively impact our relationship with others, our productivity, and mostly our health. And one effective way to reduce stress is meditation. 

Taking a few minutes off to meditate is so important so that stress won’t build up. It can also help us stay focused and boost our mood. 

You may want to read this – How to Practice Mindfulness Throughout the Day.

4. Follow the 20-20-20 vision rule. 

In this digital age, we couldn’t really avoid looking at screens. Most tasks now can be done on our computers. It might be more convenient but it’s not healthy for our eyes. 

According to experts, to avoid eye strain, we should take a break every 20 minutes by looking 20 ft away for 20 seconds. By doing this, we’ll be able to rest our eyes from time to time.

5. Create a comfortable and intentional workplace.

We stay in our workplace at least 8 hours a day for 5 days a week so it will be nice to have a comfortable workplace to stay in. To ensure that we prioritize our wellness, we should also make sure that we have an intentional workplace. 

It will be easier for us to stay healthy if the things that surround us encourage us to do so. We can do this by decluttering our desks, having a chair that supports our back well, and adding some things that help us destress like a candle or plants.

A comfortable and intentional space will significantly improve our emotional management and productivity.

6. Bring healthy lunch and snack.

It is tempting to just get and eat whatever’s available at work, and most of this food is not healthy at all. By bringing our own lunch and snack, not only are we sure that they’re healthy, but we’re also able to save money. 

Well, there will be days that we won’t be able to bring our food due to some reasons, but we should still be mindful of what we’ll eat.

7. Limit your caffeine intake.

Sometimes, or most of the time if I’m being honest, working can be so boring and tiring that it is unavoidable to fall asleep. We definitely don’t want this but thankfully, we have our best friend, coffee to save us. It is okay to drink coffee once or twice a day but we should learn how to limit our caffeine intake.

For those days that we really need more, we can drink a healthier substitute like tea.

8. Learn how to pace yourself.

Pacing ourselves can help us get through the day without being drained. This also allows us to manage our time properly. 

One rookie mistake is to give everything out as soon as we enter the workplace. If we do this, we’re going to be out of energy early. Instead of checking off a lot of tasks on our to-do list, we might not be able to finish any. 

By pacing ourselves, we start our day calmly and spread out our energy throughout the day. It will also be better if we know our peak time. At our highest peak, we can do our main tasks, and when we don’t have much energy, we can do some menial jobs like checking emails.

9. Set clear boundaries.

Yes, we may prioritize our career but we must also take care of our life outside work. This is what’s called work-life balance. To do this, we need to set clear boundaries in our workplace. This could be in relation to your workmates or to the work itself.

In terms of setting boundaries with our workmates, it doesn’t mean that we should distance ourselves from them. Instead, we should learn how to be professional, courteous, and respectful about each other’s private lives. This avoids office drama, which can be annoying especially when we see them almost every day. 

Of course, we can be friends with them. But still, even with our friends, we should learn how to set healthy boundaries. 

Aside from this, we should also learn how to set boundaries with our work itself by not bringing work at home. Our home is our resting place where we spend time with ourselves or with our loved ones.

10. Socialize with colleagues.

Connecting with others has a great impact on our well-being and this creates a more positive workplace. Work becomes easier when we’re with people that we can work well with. 

We can connect with others by greeting them, mingling during break time, or even going out for lunch. The important thing here is that we should learn how to communicate well with the people we are working with.

11. Unplug and take a break.

There are times that stress due to work can be too much. When this is not addressed well, it can be overwhelming and cause burnout. To avoid this, we have to learn how to unplug and take a break.

By turning off our devices or our office mode, we avoid temptations to work and this enables us to truly take a break. Remember, working all the time is not healthy. So, let’s take a break from time to time. We deserve it. 

You may want to read this –  How to take a break to actually feel rested.

12. Take advantage of your company’s wellness programs.

For those who are lucky enough, there are companies that offer wellness programs for their employees. It might be some mental health program or even just a space where employees can take a breather. Take advantage of these and use them. 

If you are on the unfortunate side, maybe it’s time to take initiative and propose some wellness programs for the team. And well, if you are self-employed, what are you waiting for? You are your own boss so you have the power to prioritize your wellness.

Follow these Health and Wellness tips to improve well-being at work.

When they say “Health is Wealth”, they really mean it. If we neglect our health, what’s the point of working so hard if we’d get sick at the end, or feel depressed due to it? Also, our body is our best asset. When we are healthy, we can do a lot of things and reach our dreams.

No matter what our aspirations in life are, we should do our best to achieve them and at the same time, live the best life possible. There are a lot of ways where we can work and push ourselves and at the same time, prioritize our well-being. We can do this by taking care of ourselves and our wellness.

For those who are having a hard time maintaining a healthy lifestyle, remember that you can’t immediately change into a healthy person. It takes time and perseverance. What you can do is follow these tips one by one and be better day by day. With this, you can grow as a healthier person and develop solid healthier habits. You got this! 

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Rooting for you,
Blaise ♡