As a result, everyone has health problems, it's just that the reasons are different. And a sick employee is not a very productive employee. Therefore, a healthy office is the key to a successful company and the support of subordinates in a normal functional state should be one of the main priorities of management.
And some offices do it pretty well! Office health lessons from the team boundless.com .
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It's quite difficult to build a healthy space around yourself when you share a small office space with other employees or work in a huge openoffice. But if you are building your own company and you decide to move to a new office, there is every chance to do everything right!
1. Live plants. Potted plants not only decorate the office space, which also plays an important role, but also help to get rid of stress. So a small summer garden in a separate corner is not such a bad idea.
The only caveat — choose plants that are easy to care for. And before buying flowering plants, make sure that your employees do not suffer from pollen allergies.
2. Natural lighting. Natural lighting is one of the keys to productive work and people's health. Natural light reduces the strain on the eyes, promotes the production of vitamin D and helps our body work according to its natural biorhythms.
So try to choose an office with large windows, where a lot of light penetrates. If this is not possible, conduct brainstorming sessions and meetings on the street. A large terrace would be an ideal place for such events.
3. Desktops. We have already buzzed all your ears about desktops that allow you to work standing up. Sedentary work at the computer obviously does not add health. Rather, it adds problems with the back, neck, arms, plus headaches and vision problems (monitors are a separate topic).
Changing the position at the table and the opportunity to stretch a little adds energy and reduces health problems. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to purchase transformer tables and good chairs, do not skimp on it! Moreover, solutions with tables are clearly cheaper than solving the health problems of your employees.
«In a healthy body — a healthy mind!»
And a healthy team spirit is the key to the success of your company!
4. Useful «office snacks». Instead of standard cookies and sweets, there should be dishes with fruits and vegetables in your kitchen. And dried fruits, nuts and green tea will make them a great company. Yoghurts and other fermented milk products are also welcome.
All these products taste good, will perfectly help to maintain a high level of productivity and at the same time will maintain the digestive system in proper condition.
5. Measure. Whatever we do, we need to know the measure. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle should not turn into draconian rules. Sometimes employees can relax, have a sweet coffee or a can of beer after a busy day.
A separate room with a comfortable sofa is also welcome ;)
6. Afternoon rest. Let's go back to our comfortable sofa — a great place for an afternoon break. Numerous studies have shown that people are more productive after a lunch break. Usually at this time, the work rhythm is on the decline and employees are literally sleeping at their desks. And it's not their fault, because after a delicious and healthy lunch, our body still needs strength and time to digest it. So the main resources are thrown to help our digestive tract.
By no means am I agitating for a five-hour siesta — one hour will be quite enough for rest and renewal of strength. And this, too, by the way, has been proven by numerous studies.
7. Frequent breaks. Small breaks for 5-10 minutes in order to get up from the computer and rest your eyes, and at the same time stretch your stiff body is another good way to maintain office health. This time allows our brain to switch from current tasks and relax.
It's not for nothing that there are breaks between classes at school and universities. Perhaps one of your employees will come up with a brilliant idea to solve another problem during a five-minute session on the basketball court!
8. Allocate a parking space for bicycles. If at least a few of your employees like to ride bicycles, it would be great to find a place to store them. Perhaps their example will become contagious and soon you will not need a parking lot for cars.
9. Encourage sports. If you have the space and the opportunity, arrange at least several times a week group classes in various sports. It can be football, basketball or yoga. Anything that your employees like will do. Moreover, if one of them is really passionate and has been engaged in a certain sport for a long time, he himself can quite cope with the role of an instructor.
10. Animals in the office. Office animals are troublesome, but very cool! Dogs and cats are great for relieving stress and defusing a tense situation. If you do not have the opportunity to have a common office pet, you can allocate one day a week (for example, Friday) and allow employees to bring their pets. The only thing you can agree on is the order, otherwise your office will turn into a zoo :)
Unfortunately, I do not know how realistic it is to create such conditions in domestic companies. But I have a few examples that allow me to hope for the best.
One of the major Ukrainian companies pays its employees and their family members for sports club subscriptions. In another one, an enterprising employee wrote a note with the words «Place for fruits and vegetables » and put it in one of the dishes, which contained office cookies. The next day, apples and bananas appeared there.
And an example from near abroad — in one of the major Polish media holdings, Friday is — pet Day.
