Management
Is Your Desk Making You Sick?
from Priority Management International
Those piles of paper, stacks of folders, and last week's coffee cup collection on your office desk mean one thing: You're likely to get sick.
A recent study was conducted on NEC-Mitsubishi employees in Japan in order to determine specific ways employees could improve their work areas. The study established a link between cluttered workspaces and poor health, and also found the opposite was true — that employees with tidy workspaces were often healthier.
The researchers warned that symptoms resulting from cluttered workspaces could escalate very quickly and significantly impact a person’s productivity and quality of life in a range of ways.
Working long hours and sitting with poor posture often compound the problem.
What can you do before it's too late?
"The 2 essentials for less stressful, more productive desk management are: Don't endure, act today; and do it yourself -- don't wait for someone else to fix it for you," says the report’s authors.
- Setting Up: Pay more attention to the way you set up your desk to reduce stress and health risks.
- Sitting Pretty: Adjust the way you sit to improve back posture.
- Take Five: Take a few minutes to stretch to reduce injury from routine activity.
- Change of Scene: Take regular breaks away from your desk to improve your concentration, overall health, and colleague interaction.
- Express Yourself: Give your desk individuality to remind yourself of life outside work.
- Keep Cool: Prevent dehydration and overheating at work to promote higher energy levels.
- De-clutter: Organise your desk to reduce stress levels and increase productivity.
Getting your desk organised will save you time, lower your stress levels and make you more effective.
