Today is #OnYourFeetBritain day! And yes – we’re supporting it, especially after all the Easter Eggs we have consumed in the Paycare office! On your feet Britain is all about encouraging the nation to unite against prolonged office sitting, all whilst challenging ourselves to sit less and move more – sounds great to us!
Many of us are spending our 8-hour working days sat down; whether it’s at a computer, machine or even in the car, and we only really stretch our legs to go to the toilet or to get our lunch out of the fridge! But, is that really enough?
With health and wellbeing always at the top of our agenda, (you probably know this by now!), we think it’s important that workplaces and individuals across Britain should learn to get those extra steps in during their working day – and what a perfect time to start!
So… calling all HR Managers – get the ball rolling today and encourage your employees to take a stand. Team up with colleagues and see how much “sitting time” you can reduce on the day, all by giving the following simple, yet fun ways to get you moving a go!
Let’s take a look:
- Walk to work, get off the bus a few stops earlier or park further away and walk the rest of your journey to work – you’d be surprised how many extra steps you can get in!
- Run a lunchtime fitness workshop for the office, whether it’s all going out for a walk or creating a mini fitness circuit, it’s all good fun and great for your health!
- Why not set up a fun alert to sound at random times? The minute it goes off, everyone must stand up for 30 seconds. For those that don’t get involved – they miss out on the next round of staff birthday cake!
- Eat your lunch away from your desk. After all, you’ve spent all morning there – you deserve a break! Ditch your usual lunch-time settings and take a stroll outside. You’ll get a spring in your step and feel better for it!
- Have one less chair than people at meetings – and no, we’re not referring to a game of musical chairs! With every change in topic or agenda, move around and swap who stands – it’s great for your health and stretches those legs!
- Ban internal emails, its lazy! (Yes, we said it and yes, we’re all guilty of it!) If you need to discuss work, arrange a meeting or even ask a question, everyone must walk to their colleagues. You never know, it might even get the desired response quicker, win win!
- Stand and take a break from your computer every 30 minutes. Talk work things with a colleague, grab a drink, head to the printer or even spend 10 seconds looking out of the window, it all makes a difference!
- Drink more water – yep, you got it, you’ll have no choice but to get up regularly to visit the loo!
Wow, there’s more you can do than we initially thought!
Remember, challenging yourself or your employees to do the following will not only benefit their health, but by taking short stunts of time away from their workspace can refresh and clear their mind, and increase productivity during the rest of the day – we all perform better when we later come back to something!
Find something small that works for you, and try it for an hour, a day or even a week – who knows, you may love it and it may be the springboard for a healthier and happier you.
Don’t forget to inform your co-workers, other company colleagues and external business contacts that you are taking part – it will encourage others to take part and may even spur on some healthy competition!
That isn’t all we have in stall for you either – would you like to know something even better?
On the lead up to On your feet Britain day, the Paycare team has been beavering away to put together an informative guide to convince even the most hardened seat-surfers to abandon their derriere and take to their feet.
Why Sitting is Bad For You: And What You Can Do About It is packed full of facts and figures which show exactly why resting on your laurels, or anywhere else, may actually be worse for you than you thought!
Not only this, our handy guide also shares ways, IN ADDITION to the ones we shared above (yes, we really are treating you!) you can make simple changes to even the most sedentary lifestyle. What about standing up every time the phone rings, taking the stairs rather than the lift, or using a smaller glass or cup so you need to refill it more.
These are all super-simple steps to take, to help you!
If you fancy getting hold of your own copy of the guide – completely free – simply email marketing@paycare.org with the subject line Sitting Guide and we’ll whizz a copy straight through to you on email. And in the meantime, do share your photos and tales of you, your colleagues and your loved ones standing proud – we’d love to hear from you. Tag us on Facebook and Twitter using @MyPaycare 😊
We’re all off for a walking editorial meeting to plan our next blogs now, but until next time…