We live in a society that is plugged in 24/7/365. Whether we’re engaged through social media, working from home, or staying current on our smart devices, we’re constantly being fed information—at an enormous rate. This has enabled a trend of today’s work force working around the clock (or, at least checking in/being updated), putting their health aside in order to get ahead.
We can argue the statement of “getting ahead,” but for simplicity, let’s say getting ahead means staying on top of work flow with the ability to start tasks before they are scheduled to begin. In order to get ahead, a recent study by the Society of Human Resource Management found that 70% of employees work beyond their regular schedules in the evening and on weekends.
By extending work hours, a healthy lifestyle is often the first area of an employee’s life to suffer. In a 2008 article from the International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 72% of employees who exercised before work or during a lunch break reported improvement in their time management throughout the workday. Being able to effectively handle time management serves two purposes. One, it of course helps pump out the stacking projects and tasks. And, two, it’s actually beneficial to your health. A 2008 Health of Financial Advisers Report showed that 63% of financial advisers who described themselves as lacking time-management skills also experienced health issues including sleep apnea and high blood pressure. Stress from lack of time-management skills can lead to serious medical conditions such as depression, obesity, heart disease, sleep problems, and memory impairment.
We’ve written numerous articles about the impact healthy employees make on the atmosphere of your school, as well as health insurance premiums. Here are some more tips to help you encourage yourself and colleagues to unplug, unwind, and feel healthier.
Make time to exercise four times a week. Exercise is proven to make you feel as though you’ve accomplished more and gives you a healthy jolt of energy. It has also been proven (as mentioned above) to help with mental focus, hence time-management. If you want to get more done during the workday and have more time for yourself, make the time to exercise!
Eat smaller lunches. Notice we didn’t use the word diet. Of course, watching what you eat is smart, but to get the most out of your day without an attack of the late-afternoon-crash, eat a smaller lunch and healthy, small snacks (such as carrots or almonds) throughout the day. And, don’t forget about breakfast.
Unplug yourself. One of the secrets to getting a good night’s rest is settling in without a television, a computer screen, or a smart device. Stimulating your mind up to the point where you pass out from exhaustion doesn’t allow your mind to rest fully while asleep. Try to make a habit of spending 30 minutes or more before you go to bed with a book or perhaps a journal.
Additional ISM articles of interest:
ISM Monthly Update for Business Managers Vol. 10 No. 2 Learn To Relax Now To Avoid Future Long-Term Disability
ISM Monthly Update for Business Managers Vol. 9 No. 2 Managing Stress 101
ISM Monthly Update for Human Resources Vol. 9 No. 3 Can Maslow Help Fix Performance Issues? (Editorial)
Additional ISM article for Consortium members:
To The Point Vol. 15 No. 7 More Time, Less Stress: It's All in the Schedule!
