Professional Wellness Month

6/25/2014 (Permalink)

Photo Credit: http://rebootbreak.com/2011/06/17/june-professional-wellness-month/

June is Professional Wellness Month!

Professional wellness is about promoting a healthy work environment, building relationships among employees, and improving personal work performance. Employers should show they care about each employee’s well-being, encourage less stressful professional practices, and help employees become more efficient.

Exercise at Work

It’s hard to find time to exercise, especially for those of us who work in an office. Exercising at work may seem impossible, but it’s one option for staying fit and keeping your energy up. It takes some creativity, but there are opportunities to exercise at work if you pay attention. All it takes is a little planning and some inspiration to squeeze in a little movement all day long.

The Basics

You probably know a few tricks for staying active at work. Taking the stairs when you can, parking further away from the door and walking around the office when you can are good places to start. Beyond that, there are a few other options to keep you moving:

• Sit on an exercise ball instead of a chair. This will strengthen your abs and back and you’ll work on your posture without even trying.
• Set an alarm to go off every hour to remind you to stand up and move around. Even if you just swing your arms or take a deep breath, you’ll feel more alert.
• Use the restroom on another floor and take the stairs
• Use a pedometer and keep track of how many steps you take. Aim for 6,000 to 10,000 steps a day.
• Leave something important in your car (your lunch, your briefcase, etc.) so you have to run out to get it (and take the stairs)
• Deliver documents or messages to co-workers in person rather than by email
• Go to the mall for lunch and park on the opposite end of the food court. Don’t forget to buy something healthy.
• Get a headset for your phone so you can move around while you talk.

Be creative. Any movement is better than none, so don’t feel like you have to do sprints all day long. Adding short bouts of exercise throughout the day will help you burn more calories and will also reduce stress so you can easily smile at your boss when she piles more work on you.

Credit to: Professional Wellness Month