office wellbeing — Office Worker Health

Review of the first parkHIIT Corporate Challenge

I love the Grant Thornton 5K and wanted to do something similar that promoted the importance of resistance training in the corporate world. I teamed up with Ronan Mahon of Movement Fitness for the first parkHIIT Corporate Challenge which started in mid-October 2018 and ran for 4 weeks on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in Ballsbridge. Companies participating in the inaugural challenge included Ibec (who had 13 participants!), AIB, Ernst and Young, Allianz and Just Eat as well as teams of individuals including representatives from Facebook, Arup Engineering and LinkedIn among others.

Workplace Wellness: Where Do We Start?

There’s quite the buzz about workplace wellness at the moment. Organisations of all sizes are switching on to the fact that healthy and happy employees have a positive impact on company culture, morale, engagement and productivity. Ensuring the wellbeing of staff can increase employee attraction and retention, reduce levels of absenteeism, improve team spirit and reduce costs. Why then are so many companies reluctant to start a wellness programme? And for those that have started, how come so many of them have been unsuccessful?

The 5 Building Blocks for a Healthy Day at Work

It’s important to lay a solid foundation to give yourself every chance of having a healthy and a productive day at work. There will always be factors that impact our day that are outside of our control. How we deal with these unplanned issues and events is important and the more prepared we are the better chance we have of hurdling them successfully without allowing them to negatively impact our day.

There are 5 areas that are fully within our control that I always try to stay on top of. They are the building blocks of my day and lay the foundations for my most productive days at work.

Workplace Wellbeing Day is this Friday

The big day is almost here. Ireland's Workplace Wellbeing Day takes place this Friday, April 13th 2018. The great news is that you can still register totally free of charge. Check out my article here to find out all the details including how to register.

I've been receiving so much feedback and questions on Wellbeing Day this year. It's wonderful to see such an interest in this from Irish businesses. I don't think there can be any doubt that employers are switching on to the fact that supporting the health and wellness of their employees is beneficial for everyone involved.

The Future of Work: Active Meetings

Meetings are the backbone of the working day for many professions. I can summarise the majority of the meetings I’ve attended as follows:

Short meetings
Long meetings
Productive meetings
Complete waste of my time meetings

What do all the above meetings have in common?

I was sitting on my backside for all of them. That is something I believe is worth changing.

How Ergonomics Can Help You Thrive at Work

Think about how you feel during your workdays. Maybe you have pain in your neck or back and feel stiff and sore when you stand up from your desk. Perhaps fatigue and irritability set in as you try to focus on projects or meeting discussions.

While there are many factors that influence how we feel during the day, the configuration of your work area – the place where you spend most of your time working, has a major effect on our overall health and well-being.

Take a close look at your work area; the place where you spend the most time working. Now think about how you sit while working. Do your shoulders hunch forward? Is your keyboard so far from you that your arms are extended while typing? Is your chair so low that your low back is rounded over, or so high that your feet are not flat on the floor? Does the lighting seem either too bright or too dim? Do you use a sit-stand desk, but still feel fatigue, aches and stiffness during and after your work days?

How My MS Diagnosis Has Helped Me Be Happier and Healthier

I was diagnosed with MS in 2003 and wow what a shock it was at the time. I was enjoying a successful career in Finance and living a full life outside of work.

After receiving my diagnosis, I remember sitting in a park crying my eyes out at the thought of what might happen and then I said to myself “I will not be a victim”. What I meant by this was, I would do everything I could, to stay well.

Controlling Stress Can Help You Lose Weight

Uncontrolled stress can sabotage any weight loss plan. As a nurse practitioner and health coach, I see many clients who list weight loss as their main wellness goal. Often they tell me they are not losing weight even though they have changed their diet and started working out. I always ask about their stress levels, and most of them will indicate it is “moderate” to “very high.” I usually focus on ways to decrease their stress levels first, then diet and exercise.

Common Office Health Problems and What HR Can Do to Help

For office workers, the danger isn’t lifting heavy objects or working hard in the sun all day, it’s conditions like carpal tunnel and computer vision syndrome. While workers are far less likely to throw a back out or herniate a disk at their desks, they’re still vulnerable to a wide array of health issues and injury risks.

We know that sitting at a desk and staring at a computer screen all day can take its toll, but what can Human Resources do about it? Let’s look at how HR and the management team can take better care of their workers in the office.

Five Ways to Stay Healthy While Working

The decision has been made, “it’s time for a lifestyle change” and you are ready to be active, fit and healthy. You found the right trainer, gym and/or group to take you to the next level. Yet, one thing remains the same, the office —the thing you call work and all of it’s sugary temptations— the cookies, the morning donuts and those darn pieces of Halloween candy that seem to never go away! Don’t fret, you can creatively change your unhealthy work environment into a healthy work environment in 5 easy steps.