According to a report by the World Health Organization, by 2022, the leading cause of absenteeism will be depression. Faced with such a scenario, it has become urgent to promote within the workplace. This environment allows people to develop, relax, be healthy and work better in addition to workplace wellness programs that include various tools dynamic breaks.
We live in a fast-paced society, with intense work rhythms, long working hours, too much connectivity, and mobility that do not allow us to put aside our work-related tasks and close the office to attend to personal matters.
Today workers feel saturated and stressed. We are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We never disconnect. The way to combat absenteeism and depression is to achieve a level of well-being radically different from what we have today.
But how can we achieve this if most of our time is taken up by work? According to the INEGI and US Concord physical health survey, lack of time and fatigue are the arguments used by Americans for not exercising.
It is necessary to look at the practices of large companies that balance stress levels with wellness programs for their employees and dynamic breaks during the workday. Absenteeism is solved by having healthy employees: physically active, better nourished, and with a sense of purpose in life.
For example: at Google, 20% of the time during the workday, the employee is obliged to take dynamic breaks and anything that has nothing to do with their responsibilities in the company. What do you achieve? Greater creativity, innovation, and productivity of its employees.
The challenges
Obesity and sedentary lifestyles are among the greatest enemies of employee health in American organizations. They lead to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even death.
But the challenge is not only in the physical sphere but also in the intellectual and psychological, since the ability to concentrate on the present and the tasks of the moment has been lost, in addition to the large amounts of stress and loss of meaning of life.
Some studies confirm that the hours of unproductivity that we have in the typical 8-hour workday reach up to 50%. That is because we are thinking about the future or the past. In addition, 20% of the working time, the collaborator receives distractions of all kinds and cannot focus on the task at hand.
Faced with this, companies have begun to worry about the well-being of their employees. Companies realize the value and importance of having healthier employees with a higher quality of life and well-being. They are the most important capital a company has, and keeping them healthy is directly related to the organization’s productivity, profitability, and sustainable growth.
It is true that, compared to Europe, companies in the USA are still not fully aware of the benefits of employee wellness programs; however, this perception has been evolving rapidly.
The argument is that it is a budget that should not be questioned when it comes to taking care of employees. Part of a business strategy finds its wall in ROI metrics.
But these programs cannot deliver results if viewed with a short-term vision. It must be applied consistently for at least 2 to 3 years to achieve truly conclusive results.
In addition, to be successful, the program must be directly aligned with the company’s business strategy, philosophy, and strategic objectives. It must encompass all spheres of the person, not just the physical.
In companies that have implemented programs with dynamic breaks, physical activity, and yoga, the results in individual tests have shown that the staff’s ability to focus increased by 354%, conflicts in work teams were reduced by 26%, and 53% perceive an improvement in the company’s organizational climate.
Dynamic breaks Activate your Employees
But what are dynamic breaks? They are activities with which you can start an activation program in the office, even on a personal level. They consist of interrupting activities for 5 minutes to perform movements and stretching of the body to release toxins stress, oxygenate the body and improve blood circulation.
These are just the beginning to activate the staff. After that, people are enrolled in other activities that not only help them to release stress but also to condition their bodies.
If you are a copywriter, programmer, or essay writer, you need to stay focused at all times. But the key to cognitive success, which includes concentration, is also a balance between physical activity, which stimulates your nerve cells and forms new neural connections.
In order for the exercises to be successful, care must be taken that they are simple (anyone can do them), safe (they do not generate the risk of injury), effective (they provide a real result to people), and motivating.
Recommendations for a Healthy lifestyle
1. Rest
Make sure you get at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep a day. Lack of sleep is directly related to depression and anxiety. Try to turn off televisions and cell phones to get a good rest. Cell phones emit a light that tells the brain that it is still daylight and do not let it rest.
2. Get moving
Do not allow yourself to spend more than 40 or 50 minutes without getting up from your chair. Finish the phone call standing up, stroll the halls, climb stairs, walk around your office. Immobility increases the chances of heart attacks. Do at least 20 minutes of walking daily.
3. Eat healthily
Avoid all processed foods and refined flours. Enjoy the freshest and liveliest foods possible. Avoid soft drinks and drink lots of water. Eat 5 to 6 light meals a day.
4. Control your Emotions
Take time to self-observe and control your emotions. Keep positive thoughts and feelings. Focus on the present. Don’t get bogged down in guilt and anxiety.