Tips for a healthy office routine
"Sitting is the new smoking"
Scientific findings show that prolonged sitting is a significant risk factor for back problems and musculoskeletal disorders. Statistically, employees miss an average of 1.4 days of work per year due to back problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) has even identified physical inactivity as the fourth largest contributor to adult deaths, highlighting the risk of increased mortality. It has now been established that the upper limit of sitting is already 4.5 hours per day. From this point onwards, the body can no longer compensate for the negative effects through exercise, resulting in the so-called "active couch potato effect".
How to sit more actively and healthily
Even people who are otherwise active are at high risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and more due to prolonged periods of sitting. If you can't avoid sitting, there are still ways to sit more actively and healthily:
- Change your sitting position frequently between a forward-leaning, upright and backward-leaning position.
- Make sure there is enough space around the office chair to use it effectively.
- Adjust the office chair to your height, especially the height. A headrest should also be correctly adjusted.
- For longer periods of work, use an office chair with a tilting or synchronized mechanism and an ergonomic backrest to provide optimum support for the area around the lumbar vertebrae.
- Make sure that there is enough space between the seat and the back of the knee for good circulation in the legs.
- Try to form a 120-degree angle between your upper body and thighs when sitting.
- Use the armrests and adjust them so that they are level with the desk top.
Even small changes in habit ensure more movement in everyday office life
In addition to these ergonomic adjustments, small activities can also counteract the negative effects of sitting for long periods and make your everyday office life healthier:
- For example, use a pedometer (or an app) to track and continuously increase your daily step count.
- Participate in stand-up meetings to encourage more movement and productivity.
- Change small habits, such as personal visits to colleagues instead of emails, messages or phone calls.
- Use the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Park your car a little further away, get off one stop earlier or cycle to work.
- Get a glass of water from the kitchenette regularly to get up more often.
- Design your working environment so that you have to get up more often.
To minimize waves of illness in the office, follow these tips:
- Clean your keyboard, mouse and desk surface regularly to prevent germs.
- Avoid eating at your desk to prevent the spread of pathogens through crumbs and spilled liquids.
- Wash and disinfect your hands regularly, not just in connection with the coronavirus.
Optimize your desk and your working habits
- Use a modern desk with height adjustment and set the height according to your height.
- Choose a desk with a low-reflection surface to avoid annoying glare.
- Opt for a sufficiently large desk, ideally measuring 160×80 centimeters.
- If you often work with a laptop, connect an external keyboard and mouse to improve ergonomics. A laptop stand can prevent neck pain, and an external monitor increases productivity.
Create a feel-good atmosphere
You should create the right environmental conditions so that you can work in a relaxed and focused manner in the office:
- Ventilate the office several times a day for a few minutes to improve your ability to concentrate.
- Bring plants into the office to improve the office air, beautify the look and achieve sound-absorbing effects.
- Choose lighting with bulbs in the colors "neutral white" or "daylight white" to imitate natural sunlight.
- Maintain a comfortable room temperature of between 20 and 24 degrees and ensure a humidity level of around 50 percent to promote well-being.
