Improving Office Wellness
A continuing trend in the modern workplace is a focus on employees' overall health and wellness. We would all love our own personal health clubs at work, but for those of us who don't have that luxury, there are plenty of health-promoting initiatives we can create for little to no money. Here are a few ideas to focus on for better office and employee wellness.
#1: Encourage Exercise
A great step toward office wellness is encouraging employees to exercise daily. A classic and easy way to integrate exercise into the workday is commuting by bicycle. Implementing a business casual dress code can help promote this means of transport; it's tough to bike to work in heels, or in a suit and tie! Other ways to encourage exercise are by providing covered bike parking and offering discounted memberships at a health club after office hours.
#2: Keep Design In Mind
How we structure the office can make a big difference in overall wellness at work. The idea of movement should be considered in design, and features like sit/stand workstations can help promote physical activity. It's also important to incorporate mood-boosting natural light, and office plants can help bolster worker productivity and morale.
#3: Healthy Snacks
It is tempting to stock break rooms with candy and soda, but quick-fix junk foods don't promote wellness. Consider improving vending machine selection by adding items like fruit, trail mix, and healthy energy bars. At the next company meeting or party, consider replacing cake and fatty foods with some healthier alternatives. (Here at EON, we have Fruit Fridays with fresh-cut watermelon and other seasonal fruits available in break rooms - and it's amazing how tempting the smell of watermelon can be!)
How does your organization promote office wellness? We would love to hear about it!
Sources:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140628161311-7345603-the-seven-faces-of-wellness-in-office-design
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/231974
3 Benefits of an Office Dog
Many households enjoy the presence of at least one pet. Owning a pet offers numerous benefits, but it can be highly beneficial to have a pet in the workplace, as well! Here at EON, we love our office dog, Henry, who is pictured below. Here are 3 reasons - all supported by scientific research - for having a dog at work.
#1: Boost Morale
It's no secret that dogs can make us happy, but we are probably unaware that office dogs can significantly lower our stress. Even by looking over at a dog, we can increase our levels of oxytocin, which is known as the "feel good" hormone. In a scientific study of 76 employees, those who were not around a dog during the workday reported drastically higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol by the end of the workday.
#2: Improve Team Culture
Having a dog around the office can promote a calming and friendly atmosphere, which is especially important for team work. A 2010 Central Michigan University experiment found that paired groups with a dog in the room rated their colleagues significantly higher in trust, team cohesion, and intimacy. Dogs are a great conversation starter and can naturally build camaraderie.
#3: Increase productivity
While having a dog around the office sounds like fun, many might question whether it would be a source of distraction. According to a 2008 survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, companies that allow pets in the workplace not only have employees who are more willing to work longer hours, but also a lower rate of employee absenteeism.
Does your company have a favorite office pet? We would love to hear about him/her!
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/23/business/office-dogs-stress/
http://www.petmd.com/dog/slideshows/care/benefits-of-pets-in-workplace
5 Keys to Work-Life Balance
We live in a society where work is encouraged and extra hours can be a requirement. When life revolves so much around our work, that elusive work-life balance can slip away. Here at EON, we've found that happier and more productive employees are those who take steps to balance all departments of life. Here are some tips to achieve a greater feeling of work-life balance.
Embrace the Off-Button
With so much technology and ways to stay plugged into our work after hours, the connectivity can be overwhelming. It's important to allow our minds a break from thinking about work when we are doing other worthwhile activities. Practices like disabling email on our phones can give us the proper mental break we need before we come into work the next day.
Early Mornings
Sometimes there's simply not enough time in the day for the activities we'd like to engage in outside of work. One way to combat time-crunch is by waking up early to do the things we want to prioritize. Morning workouts are a great way to stay fit and gain a mental edge before the workday begins.
Fun at Home
To have true work-life balance, we should aim to do at least one fun thing when we get home every day. Mixing up our activities at home is important, so that we don't fall too much into routine. When we allow ourselves to have fun and try new things, it helps to make the most out of our free time.
Integrate Family
Sometimes when we are buried in our work, it's easy to overlook the most important people in our lives. Even small communications with our loved ones at various points in the day can help bolster our relationships and create balance. By sending a quick text message, for example, we can step outside of our work responsibilities and show others that we care.
Organize and Delegate
Organization at the office is crucial; it allows us to break up work into manageable pieces. It's also essential to ensure that we are delegating our tasks accordingly. It can be tempting not to ask for help and try to take on more than we can handle, but this strategy can leave us bogged down. Productive people are those who know how to delegate.
Do you have helpful work-life balance tips for us? We would love to hear them!
Memorial Day Closure
EON will be closed in observance of Memorial Day on Monday, May 25th. Thank you, and have a safe, happy Memorial Day weekend!
5 Reasons Never to Eat Lunch at Your Desk
With lunch breaks becoming shorter and shorter in today's office culture, it's more important than ever to make the most out of our lunch break. Simply eating at our desks for lunch is not sufficient, and here are 5 reasons why.
#1: Brain Breaks!
Staring at our computer monitors during lunch is not helpful and can be mentally exhausting. We may feel that by eating lunch at our desk we will gain an edge on our work, but this perceived gain is very short-term and could easily backfire by leaving us drowsy for the rest of the afternoon. We've likely worked hard for 4 hours to get to lunch, so let's give our brain the break it needs!
#2: Creativity and Productivity
Not only should we not eat lunch at our desks, we should try to eat our lunch outside when we can. Studies have proven that eating lunch by your desk is detrimental to creative thinking. On the flip side, studies show that by sitting in green spaces and even viewing a park from an office window can have restorative effects and help improve attention fatigue and quicken stress recovery.
#3: It's a Mess
This is probably the most obvious but overlooked aspect of eating lunch right by our workstations. Simply put, lunch can be messy and we often overestimate how carefully we eat. At our desk there are many important things we don't want to spill drop food crumbs on, especially our keyboards.
#4: More Prone to Office Snacking
If we take frequent lunches by our desk, this can also lead to snacking habits and with even messier foods such as cookies and chips. If we give ourselves the green light to eat our lunch by our desks, psychologically we might want to eat more throughout the day and this can lead to overeating at work. Office snacks can be fine, we just should just try to keep them away from our workstations.
#5: Work-Life Balance
We all know how important work-life balance is for our mental health. By sitting at our desks all day, staring at our computer monitor throughout, we create imbalance. We could also be missing out on important lunchtime activities, such as breathing fresh air, giving our bodies some sunshine, socializing with other coworkers, and giving our brains the rest they deserve!
Sources:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229628
http://mentalfloss.com/article/62873/science-why-you-shouldnt-eat-your-desk