“This job is killing me!”
Who hasn’t said that at one time or another, trying to work through a difficult project or schedule? There are challenges in every job. Sometimes, it seems like the job is trying to get the best of you or bring you to your knees.
You probably said this phrase at a time of frustration or stress. Research reveals that you may have been dead on. A Business Insider article, “18 Ways Your Office Job is Destroying Your Body,” suggests that your job may be slowly killing you. From stress to repetitive motion to hours of sedentary work behind a desk staring at a computer screen, your job may be contributing to an early death.
The biggest offender to your health is sitting all day. And it’s worse if you are sitting and slouching. If you sit all day, you’re at risk for all kinds of terrible health problems, like muscular-skeletal disorders, obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Don’t think working out regularly after work is going to help. The damage is done by being sedentary for long periods in the day.
Slouching while sitting puts you in jeopardy of developing arthritis and bursitis. If your job requires you to hunch over a computer screen for eight or so hours, get a chair that helps straighten out your posture. Better yet, get up and move periodically and stretch.
Some people deal with sitting all day with a treadmill desk. Yes, you can work at your desk while your legs are racking up the miles walking on a treadmill attached to work surface. Not everyone can handle this multi-tasking. You’re more likely to have an injury from falling off the treadmill. Better sit this one out.
Who would have thought those motivational meetings and posters could be bad for you? It turns out that forcing people to feel happy or positive about something makes them even more aware of how unhappy they really are. That revelation leads to depression.
Bad air in the building can expose you to sick building syndrome, causing all kinds of health risks. The equipment you use, from breathing in printer ink or sitting too long with an over-heated laptop can cause health risks as well. Repetitive motions lik using a Blackberry, smartphone, laptop or iPad can cause carpal-tunnel syndrome, sending you to the hospital for surgery.
Your computer is a germ magnet. If you’re spending eight to 10 hours a day at your desk, you’re eating, sneezing, blowing your nose, handling papers, money, and your phone all day in one spot. The fallout from those activities goes into the air and lodges in your computer keyboard. Take a look at it. You may wash your coffee cup and wipe off your desktop occasionally, but how many times do clean your keyboard with forced air or antiseptic wipe? Who knows what germs or viruses are hiding and multiplying with every tap of your fingers on the keyboard. Tap, tap. Pick up a sandwich and take a bite. Scratch your eye. Catch a sneeze with the palm of your hand. Tap, tap, tap. Get the picture?
Boredom, too much light. All these are health hazards. Unhealthy eating rounds out the hazards. Going to lunch with the gang for tacos, burgers or pizza. Donuts or cake to celebrate birthdays, retirements, or just about anything. The holidays bring a neverending buffet of sweets, snacks and candy brought from well-meaning co-workers. Who can say no?
A few changes can give you a new lease on life. Bring your own healthy lunch and learn to say “no thank you” politely. Bring the sanitized wipes to clean off your keyboard. Turn down the lights and sit up straight. Get up and take a short walk for a few minutes every hour to get your blood flowing and change your scenery. Have a life outside of work so you have something to look forward to. Planning fun activities after work will make 10-hour days easier to handle.
Don't forget to have a life!
Photo Source: Freedigitalphotos.com
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