Is your job harming your health?

If you dread going to work on Monday, your workplace may be making you sick. Spending hours working at a job you hate is not just mentally draining, it can take its toll on the body as well. Even if you like your job in theory, long hours, mental strain, and other factors can diminish your sense of satisfaction and damage your health.

Luckily, you don’t necessarily need to quit your job to improve the situation. Taking simple steps each day to counteract the effects of work can dramatically improve your health and lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and other illnesses.

Physical impact

One of the biggest challenges that people face at work is sitting at a desk for long stretches of time. Medical studies have proven that sitting for hours can wreak havoc on your health. It contributes to obesity, heart disease, back and neck problems and a host of other health problems.

To help lessen the damage done by sitting all day, make a conscious effort to get up and move for at least a few minutes every hour. Even if you just walk around the office or down the hall to the bathroom, get up, get out of the area you work in and clear your head. You will find you are more focused and attentive when you take short breaks like this, too.

Another change you can make to stay healthy is to eat better. At work a lot of people turn to sugary snacks or caffeinated drinks in order to stay alert, but these simply give you a quick energy fix followed by a slump. While there’s nothing wrong with the odd coffee, eating a healthy snack such as fruit or nuts is a much better choice than a candy bar or energy drink to get through the day, as it will provide more lasting energy.

Bring your own lunches to work so you are not tempted to get fast food for your lunch. Pack healthy salads, lean proteins, and nourishing soup. When you need an energy boost, have a piece of fruit, some carrot sticks with hummus or an apple cider vinegar drink to get a boost of natural energy.

Make sure you exercise too. After sitting hunched over a desk or table all day, the best thing you can do is to go work out those kinks and stiffness with some physical activity. Yoga, sports, even a walk around the block will help you get rid of stress, improve your posture and stretch your muscles.

Mental impact

Sometimes the reason you don’t want to go to work is more about your mental and emotional health. Long hours and a lack of proper down time (often due to taking work home or checking work emails from your smart phone) can quickly make you tired, stressed and eventually lead to burnout.

If your office has a work-late culture, you can try leaving 10 minutes earlier for a week. Once you leave, your co-workers are likely to leave earlier too. Then, leave a little earlier again. Even better, try talking to your boss about their expectations. Make it clear you’re happy to work hard and want to get the job done. Emphasise that working normal hours will give you the energy to be more productive when you are at work. Then, make sure you work hard and produce results so you feel okay about clocking off at 5pm.

Where possible, you should make a point to leave on time and switch off your work emails when you’re not at work. Also, don’t pick up your phone straight away in the morning – do something for yourself, such as exercising, enjoying a cup of green tea or writing in a journal.

If you’re having trouble with co-workers, this can really put a damper on your work satisfaction. If you feel that your work environment is not friendly or safe, it’s important to take action. At the very least, document what happens in a diary and date your entries. This will help you stick to your guns and, as bullies often choose tactics that aren’t easily labelled as bullying (such as undermining you in from of clients, rather than coming out with a direct insult), writing it down makes the behaviour seem more concrete. Then, talk to your supervisor to get support and see if the problems can be resolved. 

You can improve your work satisfaction wihout changing jobs. Check out our guide to being happy at work.