Eight to ten hours on your feet or sat on a chair in front of a computer five days a week can really take its toll on the mind and body. From carrying heavy stock causing back pain to resisting those high calorie treats your colleagues leave on your desk, maintaining good health at work can be really difficult.

This edition of the Working Well blog is about finding tools to help you manage the top five health challenges people face at work.

Healthy Diet

How many times have you been in situations where you’ve been offered a delicious sweet treat, been tempted by left overs from meetings that were free to eat or had cakes brought in? “Go on have one, I spent all evening last night making them?” It’s hard to resist right! 

Encourage your team to contribute to a shared fruit bowl or have your own back up snacks ready to hand so you have a healthy option. If you are working in a job where you often work through your breaks because of short staffing or workload, please be sure to at least be eating on the go. I have witnessed medical professionals who do not get time to have their lunch so go without, and on occasions, fainted because of this.

It is so important for all round health to make sure you are eating meals/snacks throughout the day. Try wearing a bum bag filled with healthy snacks to eat on the go so you can always access these.

Drinking Water

When you’re busy at work it's often easy to forget about drinking. But being dehydrated can affect your performance at work causing headaches, dizziness, low energy and forgetfulness. Aim to drink at least six glasses of water during an eight-hour working day. Keep a refillable bottle of water on your desk or a bottle that attaches to your clothes if you’re on your feet a lot.

Fruits like watermelon, apples, oranges and grapefruits are also good to have alongside your water to help you stay hydrated.

Overworking

Overworking can lead to some very serious physical and mental health issues. I’m sure we have all experienced a heavy workload at some stage in our lives but the key is to ‘nip it in the bud’ as soon as we become aware of it to prevent ill health.

Overworking can mean accepting too much work, work that is too difficult for you, work that takes up more time than you have, or simply work that is emotionally or mentally draining.

Ways of overworking may differ, but they all share the quality of being overwhelming and strenuous in the long run.

It’s important to monitor yourself and be mindful of when you may start to experience this. Speak to your manager and explain the strain it’s having on your performance and wellbeing. Say that you can do A and B but not C because of time restraints. Make suggestions on how this task can be achieved without your involvement. Managers can’t always see when you’re struggling so chatting it through with them is sometimes all you need to do to improve the situation.

Don’t carry on working under so much pressure and stress; this will not serve you in the long run!

Sitting At A Computer

If you’re someone who sits at a desk all day, you know exactly where I’m coming from. Whether it’s back pain, a tight neck, sore wrists or eyestrain, when we spend all day at a desk to pay the bills, our bodies often get stuck picking up the pieces.

Where possible, aim to do your work standing or walking on the spot to add a little exercise to your day. This can help to loosen up your muscles and reduce any aches and pains.

It’s also a good idea to make sure your computer screen and chair are at the correct height and that you sit an arms length away from the screen to help prevent eyestrain. If you can't see the screen an arms length away from the screen, simply increase your font size.

Take regular screen breaks, even if it’s just for a couple of minuets, to give your precious eyes a break. These are all small changes you can make to help improve your health at work.

Lifting Heavy Items

If you lift a heavy object incorrectly, you can end up pulling muscles or even worse, suffer long-term damage to your back or upper limbs. It’s so important that if your job involves lifting, you know how to do it properly. Employers should offer training in manual handling in these circumstances but if they don’t, perhaps you could do some research into pricing for your team to be trained and suggest it to your manager. It may be that they have never considered it before.

Never assume that because another colleague can lift an object without injury, that it is a safe weight for you to attempt. Everyone is a different size and we all differ in body strength. If you are asked to lift something you believe is out of your ability, never be afraid to say no. Put yourself first; your body deserves it!