Looking after your health at work

Making sure you look after your health at work is always important. That’s why we’ve listed some of the most important factors to remember when it comes to your health and the work you do.

Stretch your legs

Whether you work in an office or spend long stints driving (e.g. with freight deliveries or otherwise), it’s important to take time away from sitting down and stretch your legs. Along with being a cause of deep vein thrombosis (as often noted on long flights), overall inactivity that’s caused by sitting down for too long can increase the risk of various life-threatening diseases such as obesity and even cancer.

At work, make sure to stretch your legs at least once every couple of hours. If you find your job is more or less quite sedentary in nature, then make sure you are active outside of work. A simple 30-minute walk after work is a great option. And take advantage of the weekends to go for longer walks or partake in whatever your preferred activity may be. By doing this, you’ll stay healthy and your job won’t be putting your health in danger.

Take your breaks

Now more than ever, many of us work in often high pressure environments. Deadlines, a seemingly never-ending stream of customer and client demands, late nights – they all create stress and can you overwhelmed. But no matter how busy you are, you should still aim to take your allocated breaks, even if you take them later in the day. Even 30 minutes of reprieve allows you to mentally process what you need to do and go back into the fray with more energy.

Stay hydrated

Staying hydrated isn’t just important for those working out in the hot Australian sun. In fact, these days, almost every single workplace environment will dehydrate you. Because whether you’re working in the sun or inside an air conditioned building, both dehydrate. Out in the sun, you will sweat more often and naturally lose vital fluids that help keep you cool and hydrated. In air conditioned environments, moisture is removed from the air, which in turns dehydrates you. 

Dehydration can lead to heat exhaustion (if outside), a loss of focus, headaches, and an impairment of your cognitive thinking. So no matter where you work, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water.

Don’t do anything that could lead to injury

This may sound obvious, but there are workplace injuries that come from employees exerting themselves beyond what they’re capable of. One example is trying to lift something by yourself that should be lifted by at least two people. If you can’t do it by yourself, don’t do it. And remember, companies don’t want you to get injured. They need all of their employees as healthy and capable as possible. It may make you feel like a number, but that’s what makes a company successful – great employees all working together in an efficient manner.