“SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING.” “BLOOD FLOW AND MOVEMENT STIMULATE SUCCESS.” THERE ARE PLENTY OF THEORIES ON HOW TO PROPAGATE A SMARTER, HEALTHIER WORKPLACE AND AVOID THE TRAPPINGS OF AN UNWELL WORK ENVIRONMENT.
Ask your benefits consultant, health insurance enroller, even the facilities manager analyzing your ergonomic needs—they will all have a best practice, the latest white paper or LinkedIn article on the subject.
The truth is, there is no silver bullet to make all of your employees healthy and productive, but there is hope. Can you imagine your parents working at treadmill desks when they finalized their dissertations, medical studies or cost-benefit analyses? Organizations have never been more forthright about their work environments than in today’s workplace landscape.
A standing desk won’t make you smarter, but the change in viewpoint stimulates different viewpoints in the mind.
Walking all morning won’t make you more attentive, but regular movement curbs complacency and refines focus. Eating better won’t make you an American Ninja Warrior, but a diet rich in whole foods may keep your energy levels more consistent throughout the day. Imagine what all three of these practices could do for your productivity and efficiency. A pneumatically raised worksurface is no substitute for a vacation or mental health day, but a static workstation will only amplify tunnel vision in a stressed or burnt-out employee.
What can your organization’s leaders do to pivot this?
Ask questions about your organization’s culture. Do your managers need treadmill desks to have walking meetings with your employees instead of sitting ones? Do strategy meetings between department leaders need to be done over acai bowls and fresh-pressed juices in the morning instead of pau hana drinks and pupus in the afternoon? Integrating work and wellness may prove the solution.
The challenge then becomes gaining buy-in from your workforce. How can this be done? The answer is leadership.
According to the Wellness Council of America, when CEOs value healthy lifestyles and openly practice good health habits, the rest of the organization is likely to follow in their footsteps.
Wellness in the workplace might just be a top-down management style where all can benefit.
CHRIS DITTMAR is the vice president of business development at Infinium Interiors. An O‘ahu native, he earned a BFA from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, and recently received his Executive MBA from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Shidler College of Business.