Lack of Time Management Skills Lead to Health Problems
By: Tim Tucker
With the technology and innovation of smart phones, and easy access to work e-mail, social media, documents, and programs, today’s workforce now spends more time working after hours outside the office and less time worrying about their health. A recent study by the Society of Human Resource Management found that 70 percent of employees work beyond their work schedule in the evening and on weekends. With the extended hours, a healthy lifestyle is often the first area of an employee’s life to suffer.
A 2008 Health of Financial Advisors Report showed that 63 percent of financial advisors who described themselves as lacking time management skills also experienced health issues, including sleep apnea and high blood pressure. Stress from a lack of time management at work can lead to serious medical conditions like depression, obesity, heart disease, sleep problems, and memory impairment. According to the Mayo Clinic, stress can be managed through specific strategies including a healthy diet, regular exercise, healthy friendships, and plenty of sleep.
While it’s difficult to find time to exercise during a hectic work schedule, research shows it provides numerous advantages. In a 2008 article from the International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 72 percent of employees who exercised before work or during their lunch break reported improvement in their time management throughout the day. And, in a study led by theUniversity ofBristol inEngland, employees performed significantly better on days they exercised. In addition, workers experienced better work attitudes toward their colleagues and a higher sense of accomplishment for the day.
Exercise during or before work isn’t the only answer though; avoiding the health problems that come with a heavy workload and poor time management needs to also include watching what one eats. An easy way to avoid a poor diet and workplace stress is to stop eating lunch in the office. Often, employees think they don’t have time to leave their desk to eat lunch in a break room or with co-workers at a local restaurant. According to a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, “eating at your desk encourages mindless eating, and overeating.”
While eating lunch at one’s desk is bad habit to form, employees should start enjoying some snacks throughout the day at their desk. Few office vending machines have options that could be considered healthy, so it’s up to workers to bring different types of snacks to work for a boost of energy. A handful of trail mix or almonds, an apple, and some baby carrots all make for healthy options for employees that are less than 200 calories. Eating smaller portions of food, multiple times a day will help employees avoid overeating at lunch and dinner, and stop the afternoon crash that so many experience late in the day.
So what if employees are eating healthy, staying fit, and still having trouble with stress and time management at work? The answer is most likely a lack of sleep. An article in the New York Times Magazine showed that the national average of 6.9 hours of sleep per weeknight causes workers memory function to slowly decline over two weeks. At the end of this study, workers with just six hours of sleep were as impaired as workers who had been sleep deprived for 24 hours straight. Experts also showed a decline in sleep for adults due to constant distractions like e-mail, internet browsing, and text messaging. To help get better, more restful sleep at night, avoid big meals and any beverages containing caffeine a few hours before going to bed. If thoughts of projects and deadlines at work still linger at night, keep a pen and paper by the bed and write down everything you need to take care of the next day.
A healthy, happy, motivated worker is not only good for team morale and the success of the business, but can save money on health insurance cost for the business and its employees. According to a study by the Graham Lowe Group for the Canadian health department in 2004, medical professional’s estimates suggest unhealthy workplaces account for 20 percent of total healthcare costs.
Today’s workers are at the office more often and usually handling more tasks because of a smaller workforce. But that doesn’t mean health needs to suffer. With a few of the right habits established and the bad habits broken, employers and employees can expect to see a better attitude, more achievements, and a healthier lifestyle.
For More Information:
Tim Tucker, franchisee
Express Employment Professionals
1907 S. Walnut Street
Bloomington,IN47401
(812) 333-6210
Tim.tucker@expresspros.com
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