Encourage Your Employees To Take A Stand

Everyone knows that sitting down all day isn’t healthy. A sedentary lifestyle leads to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. It also isn’t good for our mental health or our productivity.

Unfortunately, many jobs nowadays are sedentary. In fact, when it comes to some office jobs, there’s literally no need to leave your desk (especially with technologies like video calls now in practice). You’re pretty much encouraged to stay sitting.

By encouraging employees to stand up more, you could help to reduce health problems caused by sitting down for too long. You could also help to mentally stimulate employees and keep them productive. Below are just a few ways in which employers can encourage employees to take a stand.

Encourage Employees Not To Eat Lunch At Their Desks

Your employees should be using their lunch break as an opportunity to get away from their desks. It’s much harder to relax when you’re still at your desk – you may still feel indebted to answer phone calls and may not be able to mentally break out of work mode.

A change of environment can help us to separate work and relax time. It also forces us to get up on our feet and get some exercise (even if it’s just a few steps to the break room).

Set Up An Office Gym

Give people the option to work out at work on their break by providing an on-site gym. Or if your company operates remotely, offer to cover the cost of a gym membership. This will not only get employees on their feet, but can get them using all their muscles and working up a sweat.

Such intense exercise is great for improving one’s concentration and motivation. You can buy gym equipment for offices at sites like Sardine Sport. This could be something as simple as a single treadmill or exercise bike.

Plan Activities Out Of The Office

You can also get people away from their desks by planning activities outside of the office. This could include inviting your team out for lunch, hosting a meeting in the park, or even taking employees along to a seminar or workshop. This forces employees to embrace a new environment so that they’re not sitting in one location all day.

Look Into Height-Adjustable Desks

You may have heard of ‘standing desks’. These are desks that you can use while standing up. While a novel idea, standing up all day isn’t much healthier than sitting down all day.

It’s better to give employees the option to sit or stand by providing desks that can have their height adjusted from seated level to standing level. Employees can then stand up and keep working when they’ve had enough of sitting around.

Lead By Example

As the boss, you are the role model for your staff. You can’t expect your employees to start getting on their feet more if you are not doing the same.

Therefore, you should make an effort to get away from your desk on your lunch break or use a standing desk – your employees will feel more comfortable doing the same if they see you doing it.