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Episode 2737:
Elly McGuinness offers actionable workplace wellness tips for both employees and employers. From taking breaks and drinking water to adjusting your workstation and incorporating exercise, the advice is designed to boost both mental and physical well-being. By following these simple, cost-effective strategies, you can improve alertness, productivity, and overall happiness at work.
Read along with the original article(s) here: https://ellymcguinness.com/blog/workplace-wellness-ideas/
Quotes to ponder:
"Stop for at least 5-10 minutes every hour and don’t feel bad for doing so. Overall, you should find you’re more alert and productive throughout the day."
"Sunshine is important for serotonin regulation to help you feel good, as well as vitamin D production."
"If you’re drinking enough water, you will need to get up for bathroom breaks regularly throughout the day!"
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[00:00:51] This is Optimal Health Daily. Ways to stay well in the workplace. Best workplace wellness ideas by Ellie McGinnis of EllieMcGinnis.com. And I'm Dr. Neil, your host and narrator.
[00:01:06] Hey there, welcome back to Optimal Health Daily or welcome for the first time if you're new here.
[00:01:10] This is the podcast where I read articles to you, kind of like an ongoing audiobook.
[00:01:15] Oh, and the articles I read are all about health, nutrition, fitness and wellness.
[00:01:21] And again, always with a bit of my commentary at the end.
[00:01:24] Now I'm going to keep this intro nice and short. So let's get right to another post and continue optimizing your life.
[00:01:35] Ways to stay well in the workplace. Best workplace wellness ideas by Ellie McGinnis of EllieMcGinnis.com.
[00:01:44] Are you an office worker or employer who's looking for some workplace wellness ideas?
[00:01:49] Here are some simple tips to help you feel better both mentally and physically.
[00:01:54] Take breaks, and plenty of them.
[00:01:57] Many careers in the modern world involve lengthy periods of sitting at a desk.
[00:02:01] Adding to this, you'll find yourself in a similar position if you're driving to and from work and everywhere else that you go.
[00:02:09] The potential negative effects of prolonged sitting can range from raised blood pressure and excess abdominal fat
[00:02:16] to chronic lower back and hip pain.
[00:02:19] Stop for at least 5 to 10 minutes every hour, and don't feel badly for doing so.
[00:02:24] Overall, you should find yourself more alert and productive throughout the day.
[00:02:29] Do a few simple stretches or go for a short walk during your breaks to get your body into a different position.
[00:02:35] If you have a tendency to work non-stop, set an alarm on your phone to remind you to get up each hour.
[00:02:41] Ultimately, just get out of your chair.
[00:02:44] Drink plenty of water.
[00:02:46] This will help your brain to stay alert and will reduce the likelihood of making poor nutrition choices throughout the day.
[00:02:53] It also helps you to put the first point into action.
[00:02:56] If you're drinking enough water, you'll need to get up for bathroom breaks regularly throughout the day.
[00:03:02] Workstation setup.
[00:03:04] Consider setting up a sit-stand workstation so your body doesn't remain in a fixed, seated position all day.
[00:03:10] Get it set up professionally to ensure everything is at the right level for optimal posture.
[00:03:16] Go outside.
[00:03:17] During at least one of your breaks during the day, go for a walk outside.
[00:03:22] Consider also doing this before and after work.
[00:03:25] Sunshine is important for serotonin regulation to help you feel good, as well as vitamin D production.
[00:03:31] Take it a step further and take a walk in nature if you can.
[00:03:35] If you are an employer looking for employee wellness ideas, consider locking the office for 30 minutes each day to help your employees implement this step.
[00:03:45] Do the palms up posture.
[00:03:48] Aim to regularly incorporate the palms up posture into your day.
[00:03:52] This can help you get away from being in a forward, slouching posture that's conducive to tight shoulders and neck muscles.
[00:04:00] If your hands are on a keyboard, you can keep your forearms on your desk, but just turn your palms so that they're facing upwards.
[00:04:07] Maybe you can close your eyes for a minute and focus on breathing while you do this, as a bit of a mental timeout.
[00:04:13] Try to find other opportunities during your day to turn your palms up, or face forward if you're standing up.
[00:04:21] Eat healthy snacks.
[00:04:23] Plan ahead to eat healthy snacks such as fruits, vegetable sticks, hummus, nuts, seeds, boiled eggs, and even dark chocolate.
[00:04:32] This will help reduce the need to rush to the vending machine or cookie jar at 3pm each day.
[00:04:37] If you're an employer looking for workplace wellness ideas, consider stocking some of these healthy snacks for your workers.
[00:04:44] Incidental exercise.
[00:04:46] If walking or biking to work is not an option for you, consider parking a few blocks away.
[00:04:52] This will help stretch out your legs and help refresh your mind.
[00:04:56] Specific exercise choices.
[00:04:58] Take up Pilates or yoga on a regular basis.
[00:05:02] Both of these classes teach awareness of posture and activation of the core muscles.
[00:05:07] This can help transfer to increased attentiveness to posture while you're sitting down.
[00:05:12] For employers looking for workplace wellness ideas, consider getting an instructor in for a 30-minute class once a week.
[00:05:19] This can help boost energy levels, morale, and productivity in the workplace.
[00:05:24] Workplace Wellness Challenges.
[00:05:27] There are a number of companies offering this service.
[00:05:30] See what you can find on Google or sit down as a work team and brainstorm ideas that will get everyone excited.
[00:05:36] Some workplace wellness challenges that other companies have adopted include a steps challenge.
[00:05:42] Buy every employee a pedometer and easily track the number of steps each worker covers each day.
[00:05:48] Or enter an event such as a 5k walk or run as a corporate team.
[00:05:54] Get a health and fitness professional to put together a plan for the team leading up to the event.
[00:05:59] The workplace wellness ideas you adopt can be interesting and fun.
[00:06:03] They can also have a huge impact on productivity as well as enjoyment of the work environment.
[00:06:09] What are you doing for wellness in the workplace?
[00:06:12] Ideas such as the ones shared in this post can be simple, cost-effective, and fun.
[00:06:21] You just listened to the post titled,
[00:06:23] Ways to Stay Well in the Workplace.
[00:06:25] Best Workplace Wellness Ideas by Ellie McGinnis of EllieMcGinnis.com
[00:06:29] And I'll be right back with my commentary.
[00:06:32] Dr. Neil here for my commentary.
[00:06:35] Now before I became a full-time faculty member,
[00:06:38] I actually used to work in workplace wellness for the University of California system.
[00:06:43] Many of the things my team and I would recommend are the very same that today's author, Ellie,
[00:06:48] mentioned in her post.
[00:06:50] Now, I will admit, not all departments were open to this idea of workplace wellness.
[00:06:56] Don't get me wrong, they cared about their employees, but they needed their team to produce.
[00:07:00] In my experience, the perception was that these wellness activities like encouraging employees
[00:07:06] to use their break time to take walks or investing in potentially expensive sit-stand stations
[00:07:13] would lead to less production out of their employees.
[00:07:16] That somehow, these activities decreased efficiency and would lead to less revenue for the department
[00:07:23] or the company.
[00:07:24] But luckily, there's lots of research that has found the opposite to be true.
[00:07:29] Many published studies talk about how these types of wellness activities actually lead to a more productive,
[00:07:35] more efficient, and happier employee.
[00:07:38] And when employees are more productive, efficient, and happy, they tend to be healthier too.
[00:07:45] That means fewer sick days.
[00:07:46] And all of this saves the company money.
[00:07:50] Once I would talk about how I could save these managers money
[00:07:53] and possibly make their employees happier and healthier at the same time,
[00:07:58] they were usually convinced.
[00:08:00] All right, that'll do it for today.
[00:08:02] I hope you have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you back here tomorrow,
[00:08:05] where your optimal life awaits.
[00:08:06] I'll wait.
[00:08:07] What's up next?
[00:08:08] I'll look forward to seeing you next time.
[00:08:08] We have a great rest of your life.
[00:08:08] With this, I'll be watching you next time.