Health and Wellness in the Workplace

With the extreme pressures in a workplace it is important for employers to provide a healthy workforce for positive productivity. Many companies forget the reasons why their companies do so well and what can keep things that way or help have better. A company; consist of many people whether it is a big company or small, you have owners, management, and coworkers. Every one of these persons is responsible for the outcome of each day, so to insure the outcome is a positive one, everyone involved should feel relaxed, and proud of their work and duties.

Long hours at work can get pretty tough and painful for your body no matter how old you may be. There are ways to prevent the carpal tunnel syndrome, neck pain and stiffness, aching backs, eye strain, and headaches. What is used in an office and how it is used plays a strong part in all this such as chairs, desk, and computers, those are in office equipment what about outdoors or factories? Lifting heavy objects improperly and with out the use of proper equipment can affect a persons well being. When sitting in a chair a person should sit with their back straight and not hunched or leaned forward to where shoulders are pushed back. This does not mean a person should look like a solder at work either. Legs should be flat on the floor a little forward; hands when on a desk should not look like they are reaching for some thing far away or above chest level. One other thing to consider is to take breaks, if the eyes start to wonder off or feel tired blink a few times, look away from the object currently be worked on. Move the neck side by side and around, massage the hands and stretch the legs. Do not hesitate to move from the chair and desk area, this does not mean disturb others or take too many breaks but just enough to get relaxed and less tense. During a long days work do not get too caught up and skip lunches, nutrients is the most important factor for a body to stay healthy and fit. Drink plenty of water, hydration will help avoid fatigue and headaches, as well as keeping the body strong and energized. Sleep is important as well come to work well rested for the body needs rest to reenergized itself to last another long hard working day.

Health and wellness programs in a workplace should always be part of an employee’s package when hired. “There is a wide variety of wellness initiatives offered by employers, such as Wellness education/ resources, health screening, subsidized flu shots, health risk assessments, smoking cessation programs, health fairs, healthy food choices in a cafeteria, on-site fitness facilities or equipment”,(Medical Benefits, para 3) and many more that can be listed. All these may sound costly but in the long run it will pay off. Offering these types of benefits insures the employees that the company cares about them and appreciates the hard work they give in helping making the company successful. Employees who are offered programs like this will want to take care of their jobs and work even harder, this will reduce turnovers, reduce worker’s compensation claims/cost, reduce absenteeism, lower health care claims/costs, improve employee health and morale, and higher productivity. Having a gym of some type available to employees at all times can help release stress in a positive manner. When a person achieves such a goal as to getting fit and staying fit and healthy they begin to boost their level of confidence and with this it will encourage themselves to strive for higher levels of achievement at workplace. Better attitudes will come out of this as well as leadership roles.

Relationships with in a workplace can also determine how well things can or can not run in a work day. With employees who