Stay Fit While You Sit
Tips for Staying Healthy at Your Desk Job
Do you sit at your desk for long periods of the day? Have you ever experienced back, neck or shoulder pain after a long day at the office? Perhaps you put on a few pounds after taking a desk job. Research has shown that people who work desk jobs are likely to lose muscle tone, experience back pain, gain weight and suffer from increased stress. That’s because inactivity, poor posture and bad eating habits tend to plague those who sit at a desk throughout the day.
One study by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) showed that those whose jobs require them to sit at least six hours a day are twice as likely to be overweight as those who sit for less than 45 minutes a day at work. So what can you do to stay fit but keep your desk job? Check out these tips.
Stay active.
• Take a 15-20 minute walk. Instead of a coffee break, take an exercise break twice a day. It will perk you up just as much as a cup of coffee, plus it will get your blood pumping. According to ACE, everyone should walk at least 10,000 steps a day. Consider using a pedometer to keep track of your activity throughout the day.
• Get out of your chair at least once an hour. Simply standing up while taking a phone call can give your body a needed break from sitting. Consider pacing your office or walking in place to re-energize your body.
• Rid yourself of excuses by being equipped. Keep an extra pair of tennis shoes and a rain jacket at your desk so you can go for a walk any time. Bring a small pair of leg weights and stow them under your desk to get even more out of your walks throughout the day.
Get the right equipment.
• Invest in a comfortable desk chair. Consider purchasing a specialized chair to foster back, spine and neck health. Or look into a unique alternative such as an exercise ball or kneeling chair to sit in for a portion of the day.
• Utilize ergonomic tools. There are numerous tools designed to help desk workers. Many of these, such as keyboards, wrist cushions, mouse pads, document holders and foot rests are inexpensive investments in your overall health. They can also help you avoid repetitive strain injury.
Protect your back.
• Sit up straight while working. You can passively work out muscles by sitting with proper posture and engaging your abs.
• Adjust your seat properly. Make sure you are sitting in your chair so your feet can rest flat on the floor. Adjust the lumbar support according to your height and shape.
• Do stretches at your desk. Place your hands behind your lower back while sitting up straight. Move your right ear toward your right shoulder and then slowly move your left ear toward your left shoulder. Then, look down at your desk while pulling in your stomach muscles and straighten your back. Then look up at the ceiling. These and other stretches can help protect your back during the work day.
Watch what goes in.
• Don’t snack on junk food. The office is often a great place to find free food and most of it is unhealthy. Another popular choice for snacks is the vending machine, usually stocked with high calorie products. Avoid these options by bringing healthy snacks such as fresh fruits and vegetables or fat-free popcorn to snack on when you feel hungry.
• Avoid sodas and coffee. Though you may crave the caffeine of a soda or coffee, other things come with it such as extra calories and sodium. Instead of reaching for one of these drinks, make water your choice. Bring a case of bottled water to keep at your desk if you don’t like water from the tap.
• Make healthy meal choices. Whether you’re bringing your lunch to work, grabbing fast food while running errands or going on an elaborate business lunch, make smart food choices. People tend to overlook what they eat during the workday, but each calorie you consume will ultimately impact your bottom line.
Making a conscious effort to stay active, developing good habits and watching what you eat can help you fight the desk-bound bulge. Try sharing these tips with your staff to encourage them to remember their health throughout the day.
Brainstorm Your Way to Success
7 Steps for Creative Problem-Solving Sessions
Each day, your business faces new challenges and opportunities. How you and your staff respond to these daily pressures will directly impact your business. Companies that go beyond the status quo are those willing to take chances to implement new and creative ways of operating. One way businesses can add creativity to the mix is through brainstorming. Here are seven simple steps to brainstorming sessions that will help build your business.
• Define the problem. This is the most important and often the least practiced part of brainstorming. Before you do anything else, you must define the specific problem to generate a targeted solution. Your problem may be thinking of a new way to encourage employee interaction. Or, it could focus on how to launch a new product in a test market. It doesn’t matter what the problem is. For brainstorming to work, there must be a specific overarching reason to generate ideas, or else you simply have a group of people talking.
• Select a group. Research has shown that groups of five to 10 people are most effective for brainstorming. This size optimizes idea sharing and encourages participation from all members. The members you select should have familiarity and experience with the topic. The best participants will be self-starters who aren’t afraid to speak up. Also, designate one member of the group to record the ideas generated.
• Plan ahead. Make sure to give group members information such as a one-page memo with background information on the specific problem you want to address. But, don’t overwhelm them with long documents. You can also request for members to think of ideas before meeting in the group. Send brainstorming guidelines to your group members, so they will know ahead of time what to expect and what your desired outcomes are. Planning will ensure group members start the session ready to go and will allow more time for creative thinking.
• Establish a leader. Designate a facilitator to oversee the meeting. This might be the person calling the brainstorming session or an expert on the topic. The facilitator should be familiar with the procedures of brainstorming and be comfortable being a leader.
• Ensure openness. For brainstorming to be effective, it’s critical to establish an environment of openness, not criticism. This is one of the primary purposes the facilitator serves within the group. The facilitator should open the meeting by reviewing guidelines and specifying that no one should discount or judge any idea at this stage in the problem-solving process. Often, brainstorming sessions evolve into intellectual arguments on the merits of a specific idea. This will eat away time and encourage people to keep their mouths closed to avoid criticism, destroying the benefits of an open brainstorming session. The facilitator should be ready and willing to call out those who interject judgment or criticism into the process.
• Combine and build ideas. You should encourage group members to share every thought, no matter how wacky or wild. The general rule of thumb is the more ideas tossed into the ring, the better. Brainstorming works best when people work off each others’ ideas rather than criticizing them. Also, consider combining different ideas to produce more effective solutions. There is more than one right answer to most problems. That’s why brainstorming works.
• Do something about it. Give team members a day to offer new ideas after the meeting, and take time to evaluate all options. Then pick the most viable idea, and work on creating a plan to put it into action. What will ultimately guide your business to success is the ability and desire to implement your brainstormed ideas.
Try using these seven steps for brainstorming with your next project. Brainstorming techniques offer creativity and insight that can benefit any problem and help you establish imaginative solutions.
There’s Got To Be Something More
Become the One with a Motivational Purpose
What’s the one thing most companies have in common? They’re in business to make money, plain and simple. What do most workers have in common? That’s a good question. In the past, it might have been said that people simply worked to bring home a salary or provide for their families. While this is still true to some extent, a new generation of workers is entering the job market with different demands. They want a job that makes a difference; they want more than simply money in the bank.
Employers need to realize that jobs that simply meet employees’ lower level needs by providing an income and employment security are easy come, easy go. Great companies go beyond these basics, providing a vision to their workers. A vision helps meet the three higher needs: social, esteem and self-actualization. Fortune magazines’ 100 Best Places to Work list is filled with organizations that have done just that. Still, you might be thinking, why focus time and energy on something that won’t build my business? Well, you might be surprised to know that companies on Fortune’s best places to work list get a very tangible payoff for their efforts. Their stocks perform an average of three times better than other companies listed on the S&P 500. Consider that for a moment. Establishing a vision not only attracts top workers, it also helps companies boost their bottom line.
Establishing Purpose
For your company to set itself apart and attract the best workers, you must provide something more. But how can you do this? The best place to start is with creating a vision, a purpose for your company that elevates its reason for existing above making money.
As difficult as it may sound, establishing a purpose for your organization is really a matter of discovering why you matter to your customers. Start by thinking about why people use the products or services you sell instead of simply what they buy from you. They don’t just buy a new suit or an oil change. They want the confidence of a professional look or to know their vehicle is properly maintained. Realize that what your product or service means to people is an important part of your vision. You aren’t simply about selling to your customer; you exist to provide them with something they want or need.
Then, think about why they come to you instead of a competitor. Maybe your business focuses on providing good products at discount prices. Perhaps you focus on providing excellent customer service or your technicians are highly trained in the latest technology. Every business appeals to customers for different reasons. Tap into that by asking valued customers why they choose you.
Communicating Purpose
Merely thinking about your company’s vision or purpose isn’t enough. You must communicate this purpose to employees to ensure they understand why they work for you. The first step in communicating purpose is to commit it to paper. Spend time crafting a purpose statement you can be proud of. Then, you must share this statement with your workforce. Post it on the wall, visible to your customers, to keep all employees accountable to it. Another important aspect of communicating the purpose of your company is for management and leadership to actively work with this purpose in mind.
The Power of Purpose
Remember that purpose is important because it can encourage teamwork and help you and your team work toward a common goal. When vision is plugged into every aspect of business, workers will begin to see how their roles fit into this larger purpose. Workers who believe in a company’s purpose will give their best effort because they realize their job is about more than just what they do in their role.
Companies considered preferred places to work create vision and establish a higher purpose. Doing so encourages teamwork, minimizes conflict and gives employees a reason to give their best. Check out next month’s issue of e-Xchange for tips on how establishing a sense of community in your workplace can enhance your status as a preferred place to work.
Employment Situation Summary
United States
Non-farm employment rose by 110,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%.
Major Industry Employment for January 2007
• Construction: + 22,000
• Manufacturing: - 16,000
• Retail Trade: + 4,000
• Professional & Business Services: + 25,000
• Educational & Health Services: + 31,000
• Leisure & Hospitality: + 23,000
• Government: + 14,000
Canada
Employment increased by 89,000 in January, and the unemployment rate rose to 6.2%.
Major Industry Employment for January 2007
• Construction: + 8,000
• Manufacturing: + 4,000
• Trade: + 5,000
• Transportation & Warehousing: - 9,000
• Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Leasing: - 17,000
• Professional, Scientific & Technical Services: + 28,000
• Business, Building & Support Services: - 16,000
• Educational Services: + 1,000
• Information, Culture & Recreation: + 29,000
•
Accommodation
and Food Services: + 24,000
• Public Administration: + 9,000
e-Xchange is a publication of Express Services, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Copyright 2007.