A Remote-Working Guide: Physical Health

According to Times “Sitting is the new smoking!” Sitting for long periods of time creates a number of health issues. A study found that those who sat for more than eight hours a day with no physical activity had a risk of dying similar to the risks of dying by obesity and smoking. Canadians spend almost 60% of their waking hours at work. Considering that remote working requires employees to sit behind a desk for a long time, employers need to find ways to encourage their workers to take care of their health. Additionally, employee physical health leads to better productivity. A study shows that Physical activity is associated with enhanced cognitive processing, therefore it plays an important role in our overall performance. Exercising also reduces stress, increases focus, and memory while also building a stronger immune system. Physical health affects mental health immensely; not only does it boosts the individual’s mood and morale but also lessens negative emotions.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, active employees can improve their job satisfaction, ability to cope with stress, health, and well-being, productivity, and effectiveness at work while reducing the levels of absenteeism, injuries, turnover, disability compensation, and health care costs. It is recommended that every person should be active at least 2.5 hours per week to achieve a healthy lifestyle. This time can be broken into separate 30 minutes per day, five times a week.

How to promote remote work wellness?

• Virtual Physical Activities 

Providing access to services that offer live exercise classes, training coaches, and also offer fitness trackers can encourage employees to take care of their physical health even while they’re remote working. This approach illustrates the company’s commitment to its wellbeing programs. Telehealth platforms offer a range of services from therapy counseling to connecting with professional trainers and nutritionists. With Espritmind, employers can be rest assured that their employees’ mental and physical health is being taken care of.

• Gym memberships

Companies can include gym memberships as a part of their employees’ salaries. By covering these costs, not only will employees feel more at ease using these facilities, but this can also cause teams to bond with each other and improve their communication. 

• Create an Active Remote Team

After the pandemic, employees have felt more isolated due to the sudden changes. Now with remote working becoming the norm, it’s important for managers to create an active remote team where team members can communicate with each other and encourage each other to have a healthy lifestyle. Building an active work culture, by sharing wellness-related content and promoting wellness by setting a good example will ultimately affect the team’s health.

• Setting up an Ergonomic office

Either with the help of an ergonomics expert or individuals themselves, it’s important to set up an ergonomic office to prevent muscle strains and possible musculoskeletal issues. For more information regarding how remote workers can set up their offices to lessen the damages from sitting behind a desk all day click here.  

• Time out!

Allowing employees to have a flexible work schedule will let them include working out and taking care of their health as a part of their routine. Remote workers might overwork themselves and experience burnout. It’s ideal to give them a period of time off, every once in a while to allow them to schedule self-care activities.

• Resources are just as important

Providing information about local sports clubs, proper workout techniques, healthy diets, calories and general knowledge about health is a must for employers. Educating the staff on the importance of being physically active and eating healthy will help in building a healthy work culture and also encourage them to try and make a change in their lifestyle for the better. This information can be presented on a website or taught by virtual classes and workshops, either way, employees need to know the benefits of taking care of their health.

• Plan team activities

From organizing weekly virtual fitness classes to holding sports events and creating various challenges, there are lots of ways that you can make fitness activities sound exciting enough to pique one’s interest. 

Many companies are stepping up their game in this area for example the trucking company, Schuster Co., offers free health coaching and lectures on different aspects of health to their employees. Accenture, the multinational services company, provides Teladoc services and online fitness programs, believing that their employees’ mental and physical health is the key to their success. Overall, both companies and employees can benefit from a healthy lifestyle. From boosting productivity to having a generally better mood, there are many advantages therefore individuals must be encouraged to pay attention to their health and seek help comfortably when needed.