Staying healthy and safe in the workplace is a matter that has been discussed in length in the past, especially if we are talking about jobs that are inherently dangerous or that have a more pronounced likelihood of something bad happening. For instance, construction workers are definitely at a higher risk of falling down, suffering injury and even procuring skin cancer than someone who works in an office.
However, it needs to be said that office jobs also have their dangers and that one needs to be very careful not to experience any detrimental effects to their health. This is what we are particularly concerned with and this is what we are going to be talking in the remainder of this (hopefully helpful) article.
1. Make sure to take breaks
There is nothing worse than working 8-hour shifts or even longer ones without taking breaks. Merely sitting down for such long periods of time without getting up and taking a short walk will increase the risk of cardiovascular conditions and events. Deep vein thrombosis is perhaps the most serious of these events and even though much longer periods of time are needed for it to occur, sitting down for too long without a break will definitely not help.
It is even more important to take a break if you work at a computer, staring at the screen for hours on end. This can lead to eye strain, headaches and even some more pronounced effects on your health. It is essential to take regular breaks during which you will take short walks or at least stand up and do some stretching.
2. Get rid of the noise
Constant exposure to elevated levels of noise, which is what often happens when you work in an open office, can lead to the disturbance of regular neurotransmitter levels in the central nervous system and cause a wide variety of negative effects on the mood and the overall mental, and not just mental, health. The easiest way to reduce exposure to noise is to wear headphones that block out surrounding noise. If you like working along some music, play something relaxing instead of listening to the office noise.
3. Ensure your furniture is ergonomic
The good news is that most offices these days purchase proper ergonomic chairs and desks for their employees. Everyone is aware of how important it is to have comfortable and ergonomic furniture which will be easy on the musculoskeletal system and which will properly support your body when you work. If you are not sure of the quality of the furniture in your office, buy yourself some ergonomic furniture, even if you have to pay for it yourself. It is an investment that will pay off manifold.
4. Get out of the office
Many offices these days offer you the opportunity to work remotely for a few days a month, perhaps even a day or two a week. If you happen to work in an office like that and if you are sure that you can do your job from home, then, by all means, do it. This has been found to be one of the best things to do in order to reduce the stress that most of us experience in the workplace.
There are other things that you should do and that fall more under the ‘common sense’ category, such as avoiding contact with office colleagues who are feeling under the weather, eating a healthy diet, staying hydrated and so on. The best advice that we can give you is to try and remain calm; remember that it is only work and see if you can let go of that stress.
Author Bio
James Burbank is a blogger who writes on many subjects such as health, marketing (due to his background) and NBA history. You can find him on Twitter also – @JBurbank2019.
