Staying Healthy While at Work

image via ioiillusion

This been my year for bugs, virus nasties, and every other kind of ick that’s floating in the air. I never used to get sick like this until I went back to a part time commuting job. Now I’m not blaming the office for every bug that I’ve gotten this cold and flu season, but it seems like everyone around me has gotten sick with one thing or another and it might be time for a refresher on keeping yourself healthy in the workplace.

While you can’t call in sick to work every day just so you can avoid catching the bug du jour, you can perform some preventative maintenance to help ward off the numerous germs that may be lurking in your office.

Spotless Work Space – Keeping your desk and workspace clean will go a long way towards staying healthy at work. Store a container of disinfecting wipes in your desk and wipe down drawers, desk top, keyboard, computer mouse, workspace and especially your phone if you share an office when you arrive at work to assure a clean and germ free space to work.

image via evah

Take a Day Off – Studies have shown that people who take advantage of their given vacation days (or even take a personal day every now and then) are much less likely than those who don’t. It makes sense to give yourself a break from work and work stressors. Stress increases the likelihood of illness. Do your health a favor and use up a few work days before the end of the year.

Avoid ill coworkers – It might sound rude but one of the best ways to stay healthy at work is to avoid those who are sick. That means you might have to ditch your regular lunch pals until everyone in the group is back to the picture of health.

Don’t Share Community Food – Let’s be honest; not everyone you work with washes their hands. To keep germs at bay avoid sharing those communal office goodies or snacks. It will be tempting yes, but you don’t know where hands have been when they’re digging in to the chocolate covered pretzels or tins of Caramel popcorn.

It goes without saying that frequent hand washing at work is the best way to stay healthy. Take the time at work to stretch frequently and take frequent breaks to avoid becoming overtired, and exhausting yourself during the day. By taking breaks and doing the most basic task of hand washing you keep your body healthy and your body energized; both excellent ways of staying healthy at work.

I’m sure some of the germs I’m picking up are coming from my little germ magnets at home too (they make such lovely germ carriers don’t they?) so each of these rules can also apply to family. Keeping the healthy kids away from the sick ones is always a challenge but worth the hassle if it keeps germs from spreading and yes, you’ll be doing a lot of disinfecting of door knobs, sinks, toilets and the like but it’s all worth it when everyone can stay healthy.

What are some of your stay healthy at work tips?