The work environment has gotten a major makeover over the past couple of years. Employee health has become a primary focus, transforming our vending machines, boardrooms and everything in between. Now, you may find a yoga studio next to your desk and a fridge stocked to the brim with healthy snacks and the freshest ingredients. Today, companies encourage employee bonding through sporting events, cycling classes, and other healthy activities. Some even pay for their employee’s monthly gym memberships. This is how important health has become in the workforce.
The Benefits of a Healthy Workplace
A healthy working environment encourages productivity, keeps employees happy, and improves retention rates. Financially speaking, the right environment can boost sales and prevent losses from turnover and worker’s compensations. A healthy environment is also the very backbone of company culture. Working towards an active and healthy community, companies are able to define a unique culture that unifies its employees and its ultimate vision.
Healthy Practices
There are a variety of factors that go into creating a healthy environment. For starters, companies must cultivate healthy practices that support and foster growth among the team. This could mean hosting a meditation session during a busy season or stressful point in time. It could also mean sending a ‘Get Well Soon’ card, signed off by the whole team after an employee has gone through surgery or another medical complication. A supportive environment really is a healthy environment.
A Healthy Physical Environment
Another major component that goes into a healthy working environment is the physical environment, itself. This is one element companies continue to struggle with, even today. Due to the digital nature of everything we do, employees are constantly tied to their computer screens and crouched over their desks. This, of course, can wreak havoc on posture and overall health.
According to the American Chiropractic Association, one-half of all American workers experience symptoms of back pain. Lower back pain costs Americans close to $50 billion each year in healthcare costs. Back pain also accounts for $264 million days taken off from work every year. Clearly, health is still a major issue in the workforce.
The Benefits of a Standing Desk
Many companies are now offering their employees standing desks. A standing desk encourages a combination of sitting and active standing throughout the day. It enables workers to change the height of the desk and customize it to meet their physical needs. The standing desk ultimately inspires employees to stay active throughout the day. Compared to a sedentary position at a desk, the standing posture has been shown to burn close to 1000 extra calories weekly.
According to Healthline, a standing desk is the best desk. It prevents weight gain and obesity, lowers the risk for heart disease, improves energy and mood, boosts productivity, and can even lead to a longer life. The same source has also found that a standing desk can reduce back pain dramatically. In fact, research participants reported up to a 32% improvement over the course of just a couple of weeks.
The Next Innovation on the Horizon
Thanks to the proven success of the standing desk, a new innovation has emerged, the BLACKROLL® SMART MOVE BOARD. The Smart Move Board may be used in tandem with a standing desk to encourage an even more active lifestyle at work. It is specifically designed to make standing more comfortable and engaging, throughout the day, combining a ridged surface with integrated tools for self-massage.
The board is constructed from the latest technology in sports therapy. Using a unique material called SmartLite foam, the board provides a light and highly elastic surface for optimum comfort and pain relief. The ridged surface of the board activates the soles of the feet to encourage stretching and massage throughout the day as well. The board even comes with a set of self-massage tools including: a roller, a ball, and a twister, each designed to relieve sore muscles and prevent future injury.
The new product is sold by Active Life Solutions, an online platform that brings the best in nutrition, fitness training, and recovery to your doorstep. It will be sold exclusively on Kickstarter at the https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/activelifeusa/660019358?ref=769607&token=ca03e552 for the time being. For founder and CEO, Dr. Stephen Bui, MD, the smart move board is a strong addition to its growing collection of high-quality fitness tools.
“The BLACKROLL® SMART MOVE BOARD is primarily intended for people who normally sit at work, but would like to be on their feet and become more active. However, others are interested in using the products to feel more energized, improve concentration, improve the cardiovascular system, relieve pressure on the spine, and burn more calories during the day as compared to sitting,” he says.
We are already making great strides in the workplace. But to go even further in workplace health, we must first improve the very environment that our dedicated employees are a part of. This is the next smart move.