A growing body of evidence shows that sitting for 8-10 hours of the day is not good for our health. Sedentary jobs have been linked with high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.
It is a sad fact that the majority of jobs today are slowly killing us. A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine performed by medical researchers at the University of Colombia and found that sitting increases the risk of early death.
Add to that the negative effects of staring at a screen for most of the day. Too much screen time causes a decline in mental health and has been linked with depression – which can lead to other physical illnesses.
The majority of employees today sit for 8-10 hours whilst at work and travelling to work. Then they go home and sit for another 4 or 5 hours watching TV or socializing with friends in a bar.
Modern lifestyles are estimated to cost the US economy around $300 billion in lost profits due to workplace absenteeism. Worse still, it’s costing employees a clean bill of health.
In a time when corporate responsibility is a major talking point, companies need to step up to the mark and help to prevent the health risks associated with sedentary jobs.
Encourage Your Employees To Exercise
A new study shows that undertaking 40 minutes of “moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity” offset the effect of sitting for 10 hours. Even normal levels of movement can increase metabolism by 17%.
Simply encouraging your employees to move more often will help. However, the evidence is clear that physical exercise has a key role to play in healthy lifestyles.
Whilst heading to the gym is not for everyone, other good exercise options include yoga, pilates or simply walking. Research has found numerous health benefits of brisk walking, for example. A study performed in the UK revealed that brisk walking could extend your lifespan by as much as 15-20 years. Click here to know more about exercises that you can do.
Because walking is an entry-level exercise and something people do every day anyway, encouraging your staff to walk more often, both inside and outside work will help to improve physical and mental health. If you need some leverage, suggest your workforce downloads the sweatcoin app which rewards people for walking by converting their steps into a digital currency that can be used to purchase discounted merchandise from over 300 vendors.
Introduce Good Mental Health Practices
Work-related stress is known to contribute to all of today’s major illnesses. Introducing good mental health practices into the workplace can help your employees reduce stress levels.
Making mental wellbeing should be a priority. Simple strategies include encouraging your staff to take breaks, host stress management courses, promote self-care days, encourage healthy eating habits such as “brain food” and monitor how pressured people feel.
Workplace absenteeism can put a strain on your productivity levels, your profits, and the other members of your workforce. Taking care of your employees is taking care of your business.
