Stay healthier at work with these 5 tips.
The workplace can be very stressful and sustaining that degree of stress, not to mention being in close contact with other people (who are probably carrying all sorts of germs) makes it easy to catch all sorts of colds and viruses. Especially now that school has started, the people who have children are having to deal with all of the germs their kids bring home from school as well. I know that, for me at least, the first two or three months of the school year have always been the worst times for me. It feels as though I have a constant cold, runny nose or cough the entire time. As soon as I get over one thing, my kids bring home something else. After a month or two, my immune system catches up and things get better.
Still, when you work full-time or are looking for a job, getting sick really isn't an option. Missing time from work decreases your productivity and looks bad to your boss. Cancelling a job interview because you are sick means that you might miss out on the job because most companies will have already found a suitable candidate before you recover. The other option is to go to work sick or try to get through the interview without turning green.
The best way to keep this from happening is to try not to get sick in the first place. Although there is no sure-fire way to accomplish that, here are 5 tips to keep you healthier at work:
- Eat breakfast - Most busy professionals, especially moms, don't have time to eat breakfast or they just grab something on the go. Trust me, I have been there ( and most days I am still there). We have all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but a growing number of us think that breakfast is a cup of joe from Starbucks and a doughnut. If you make it a priority to eat breakfast each day for a month, you'll notice a significant improvement in your overall well-being.
- Get moving - If you work on a computer a lot, like I do, then you probably spend a good portion of your day sitting down. This isn't good for your body at all. As human beings, we need to be mobile, we weren't designed to sit in one place 9 hours or more a day. In order to combat this, take breaks and walk around your office. Many people even have set up their desks to allow them to stand for some portion of their day. Look for ways to be moving and try to break up the long stretches of sitting.
- Use your vacation days - If you are lucky enough to actually have vacation days, take them. There are so many people I know who look at having scads of unused vacation time as a point of honor. The thing is, we need to take breaks and have time to relax and refresh. We are more productive that way, and working long hours without breaks doesn't make us better employees. Getting away from the office and seeing something new or just taking it easy can give us a fresh outlook on things and give us inspiration.
- Travel - On long weekends or when you are feeling especially energetic, plan day trips or weekend getaways. These don't have to be expensive trips involving hotels and the like. You can have a little mini-vacation by going site seeing in your own town. Sometimes, I like to take short bus trips to other cities and spend the day sightseeing and come back home in the evenings. Even though it takes some effort, you can come back with a new attitude and have much less stress.
- Take your vitamins - We all know this one. We work too hard, don't eat right and don't get enough exercise. If you can't do much about it, at least take a good multi-vitamin. I'm the worst about taking my vitamins, but I recently discovered that there are companies that make gummy vitamins in fun shapes for adults. If you can't find those, two childrens' vitamins can do the trick. Of course, they don't have everything you need and they aren't the very best option, but they are better than nothing. For me, it's better to take the vitamins that I know I can actually manage to get in my system everyday than it is to buy the best brands and not take them at all.
What do you do to stay healthy and productive on the job? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for ManufacturingWorkersBlog and Nexxt. Along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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