Worksite wellness for your home office

At Jump IN, we offer robust tools on workplace wellness, knowing that what happens in the office influences what happens at home. Never before has that been more true, since for so many people, home-space and office-space are all one. As so many of us adjust to working from home, many workplace wellness strategies can apply to your new normal to help you foster healthy habits and keep you from developing unhealthy ones.

Breaking the cycle of sitting

We all know what it feels like to sit at our desk and realize we haven’t moved in a couple of hours (or longer!). There are many tools to help you remember to stand and stretch or walk around your house (or the block) – you can set an alarm to remind you, you can program your computer or watch to send an alert or you can design a workspace that requires you to stand up from time to time. One thing you can do is move your wastebasket into another room so that if you have to throw something away, you need to get up each time. Set a time each day when you commit to walking around the block or biking or getting some kind of physical activity outdoors – many of us are not getting even the walk to and from our cars/office buildings/bus stops/parking lots – those steps add up and we need to find a way to add them back into our days.

Cease and desist the snacking

Now is a wonderful time to commit to drinking more water, as you have your own personal water supply readily available. Make a pledge to drink plenty of water each day, but only fill your glass or water bottle halfway up each time, so you’ll have to get up to refill it more often. Now is also a time to commit to eating more fruits and vegetables. Working at home means that you are completely in charge of your meals – you aren’t at the mercy of business lunches or restaurant menus or having to scarf food in your car on your way to a meeting. Right now you’re in charge! Make a rule that you don’t snack at your desk, but take your meals at the dining table – maybe you can even make time to have lunch with your family – and model filling your plate at least half-full with fruits and vegetables.

Fun ways to make it healthy

o Jazz up boring water with these ideas (many are in season!)
o Print and hang this near your work station or make it your computer background to remind yourself.
o Take these healthy catering guidelines and apply them to lunch at home.
o Use this walking meeting tool to help you plan a walking Zoom meeting
o If you’re an employer, encourage your team to adopt healthy habits during this quarantine – it can really pay off for everyone.

Jump IN has many employer tools that you can apply to home

Jump IN offers many worksite wellness guides that can help support your efforts to be healthy in your own home workplace. Take a read of these and see where you can apply some of these tools to your daily life. If you are an employer and you are considering how to reopen your offices and what new safety protocols to implement, maybe consider what healthy protocols can you include to help your team be healthy? Jump IN’s guides offer tools and tips for employers an every level of implementing workplace wellness policies and can walk you through the very beginning steps through much more advanced policies and practices. Even small changes – in the office and in the home office, can make a big difference.

Some more tools to check out from partners we trust:
The CDC has a guide about engaging remote employees and helping support their healthy habits.
Here the Cleveland Clinic offers a tool to support mental and physical health during this time to help employees stay healthy and productive.

Mini workout of the day:

Water Cycle from the Go Noodle Blazer Fresh trio. Get up on your feet and do the water cycle dance to remind you: drink water!