While corporate and IT jobs pay a fairly lucrative salary, the health issues that arise at such workplaces cast a worrisome shadow on these perks. Most workers maintain a desk-bound stance throughout their entire day, in an attempt to get work done. This sedentary lifestyle that they lead can cause a multitude of health issues, which pose a threat to their longevity and affect productivity.
Read on, to find out more about these health issues, and the ways to overcome these.
1. Nervous System
The nervous system is a popular victim to prolonged hours of sitting behind the desk. The most common nerve-related issue that plagues a lot of workers is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, wherein the median nerve of the wrist, is compressed, leading to a tingling feeling, loss of sensation, and control over the fingers of that wrist. This arises from constantly typing and/or using the mouse frequently.
2. Venous System
Common vein-related disorders are seen to be Deep Vein Thrombosis and Varicose Veins, both caused due to the inactivity of the legs. These vein disorders are severely malignant and should be treated at the earliest symptoms. Left untreated, these disorders have the potential to complicate and become serious issues.
3. Unhealthy eating habits
Oftentimes corporate workers tend to indulge in unhealthy eating practices, such as working on throughout the day without lunch breaks, eating at a very rapid pace, binge eating, or buying unhealthy food due to lack of time at home to prepare healthy lunches. These can lead to health issues such as ulcers, obesity, diabetes, etc. They can also pave the way to eating disorders if left untreated.
4. Mental Health Issues
Stress, depression, and anxiety are some of the mental disorders that corporate workers face on a day-to-day basis. Mounting work requests, deadlines and the mere workspace environment can trigger stress-induced headaches, feelings of monotony, insomnia, etc., that extend past the confines of the workspace and plague the workers even after they reach home.
5. Vitamin D - Deficiency
Lack of stepping out into the sun causes a deficiency of Vitamin D. Staying cooped up indoors and only being let out post-sunset is an unhealthy practice and might cause a lot of workers to develop bone pain or lower back pain.
6. Heart Diseases
Spending a considerable portion of your day seated, can make you vulnerable to heart attacks due to the lack of cardio and workout. Studies report that men who spend more than 23 hours a week of sedentary activity have a 64 percent greater risk of dying from heart disease than those who spend less than 11 hours a week of sedentary activity. This is the same case for women as well, and such diseases should be avoided as best as possible.
7. Bacterial and Viral Infections
Most of the time, workplace devices such as laptops, mouses, keyboards, etc have surfaces teeming with bacteria and viruses. Moreover, viral infections such as colds can transmit quicker in closed-off, air-conditioned environments. These factors make workers extremely susceptible to contract bacterial and viral infections.
8. Musculoskeletal Conditions:
Men and women in corporate companies are also prone to developing musculoskeletal conditions such as Cervical Spondylosis (neck pain), back pain, Tennis elbow syndrome etc. These are all caused by a lack of physical exertion and lead to severe body pain.
How will health coaching help workers?
Health coaching integrates healthy ideals into the everyday routine of corporate workers. A study conducted by Dr. Steve Aldana in his workplace reported that workers experienced lower health risks for six weeks, 6 months, 12 months, and even out to 18 months after the start of a workspace wellness program.
Another conclusive study of workplace health programs and their benefits had the following report:
“We find that workplace wellness programs can help contain the current epidemic of lifestyle-related disease, the main driver of premature morbidity and mortality as well as health care cost in the United States.” - Soeren Mattke, Lead Author of Rand Report
One particular study looked at almost 200,000 wellness participants and showed that 5 of 7 health risks improved after one year.
Workspace wellness initiatives can be in the form of yoga workshops, group physical activities, team retreats, etc. The team retreats can be focused on trips that include activities such as hiking and trekking. Promoting healthier modes of transport such as bicycling can also help raise awareness on maintaining proper physical health.
Even the smallest things such as encouraging workers to take a five-minute break and stretch their muscles, rotate their wrists and ankles, and head out for some fresh air can have a major positive effect on the entire workspace environment.
If you want to learn more about how our workplace wellness service can help your employees overcome the above issues, feel free to contact us for a Free Discovery Session. We’ll be sure to train them in the best way possible, and they will emerge successful and confident.
Join Sazia Queyam's Workplace Wellness Program.
Contact:
✆ +91 9549444063
✉ coachsazia@gmail.com
Comments