Are You Acting Like A Prisoner At Work?
Are you acting like a prisoner at work?
Does that sound crazy to you? Well then, please answer these questions honestly:
Do you feel 100% comfortable getting up once every thirty minutes to stretch and move your body?
Do you feel at ease leaving your desk or position to take a quick two to five-minute walk around the building or to step outside?
Can you leave work to go to a doctor’s appointment without worrying?
Can you disconnect from an all-digital connection for an hour to focus on getting high-value work done without interruption?
Is it possible to refuse to attend meetings you find useless or to request meetings be run more effectively and/or efficiently?
Do you have the option to work standing up?
Do you feel you have the control to eat healthy food choices and to exercise on your lunch break?
Do you have a view of green at your desk or while working?
Can you insist on being treated with dignity and respect?
Can you make suggestions to improve the way you or you and your team reach your goals at work?
I hope you could honestly answer yes to every question on this list. If you did, then congratulations! Please explain to me in the comments how your workplace supports your health, wellness, and well-being by giving you the freedom and flexibility you need.
Did you answer no to any or all of the questions? It is time to assess your relationship to your work and how it negatively impacts your health and well-being.
Are You Chained to Your Desk?
I am sure you have read that sitting is the new smoking. Sitting for long periods at your desk increases your chance of developing a chronic illness and takes years off your life. The bad news is that you cannot compensate for hours of sitting with a daily hour of exercise.
No, you can’t go for a run every morning to make up for your ten hours of desk work.
Exercising every morning is a proven way to improve your overall health, productivity at work, and the quality of your sleep. But to increase your overall health and wellness, you need to be active all day long, not just once a day.
It is therefore, so critical to feeling free to get up regularly from your desk and move. A short 5-minute desk yoga routine at your desk, a quick stroll around the block, and a trip up a few flights of stairs are all good options to get your body moving at least once an hour.
If you don’t feel free to get up and move once an hour, then talk to your boss and your team. Show them the scientific evidence of how long periods of sitting and inactivity are negatively impacting not only their wellness and health but also reducing their lifespan and even inhibiting maximum work performance.
It could be that your boss is worried that two to five-minute breaks will turn into ten, and productivity will suffer as a result. In this case, you can agree to set a timer and be back on time, every time. Or you can show your boss evidence of how healthy employees benefit a business.
Most people work in open offices or in group spaces, which can negatively impact what we feel free to do during work.
The truth could be that no one cares if you get up and stretch regularly and move your body, but you FEEL like people will notice and think, well, you’re weird. Or they will think you aren’t working hard.