The average person will spend about a third of their life at work. This calculates to about 90,000 hours in total. In this blog we will be discussing changes you can make to toxic workplaces, like; desk practices, social interactions and alternative therapies to help you cope, for example adding a meditation area or an ozone sauna to your workplace.

Dealing with going back to work

Ever since COVID-19 hit in 2020, the workplace environment has changed a lot. Most of us worked, or are still working, fulltime from home. A lot of meetings are still held online via ZOOM and Skype. Meeting up face-to-face rarely happens these days, but that is slowly changing.

As we start the process of changing back to a new “normal”, it’s important to look at workplace health before returning to work or before employees return. Going back to working in an office fulltime might be a bigger challenge than we may think.

Why is workplace health important?

Spending 1/3 of your life doing anything automatically makes that thing important to the bigger picture. When you’re starting out in a new career we tend to forget about ourselves and only focus on the job at hand & climbing the corporate ladder.

Both these aspirations are important, but we tend to forget about the 3rd most important thing, ourselves. Achieving the first 2 in your 20s is super easy, but after that it kinda catches up to you. This usually has irreparable consequences.

Health risks of a bad workplace environment

First, let’s look at the most common risks, which are lack of sleep, stress and anxiety. Most jobs are 9-5 type jobs, which is great, but working in the commute to and from work adds about 4-6 hours to your workday. That means your work is actually a total of 12-14 hours, giving you 12-10 hours for house work, relaxing and getting 7-8 hours of sleep in. Guess which one we choose to ditch? Sleep.

Stress & anxiety go hand in hand when it comes to the work place. Dealing with clients, hitting deadlines and office life will take its toll no matter how good or bad your work life is. To alleviate our stress levels we usually end up doing more harm by buying things we don’t really need, drinking daily, smoking, over eating and a long list of other bad behaviors, without actually getting to the root of the issue & dealing with it.

More health risks related to a bad/ toxic workplace environment

• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Back injuries
• Hypertension
• Fatigue
• Digestive issues
• Diabetes
• Anger issues
• Other mental health issues

All the above are common toxic workplace health issues, but there is a long list of additional issues that may also occur. Each individual is exactly that, an individual, so stress, fatigue etc can have drastically different outcomes form person to person.

How do I know I’m in a toxic workplace?

By asking that question I think you have already answered your question. So rather than giving you a list of things that happen in a toxic workplace, I would suggest rather getting to the core. Why are you asking that question? What is it that makes you feel you don’t want to come to work or how can you improve your situation?

Improving your workplace health

When you’ve narrowed down what it is you’re actually struggling with you can get to the part where you can make changes.

First, I would like to say, sometimes it’s not you or the company or even the people you work with. It might just be everything, and that’s fine. Best thing then is to figure out what is it you do want and then getting a new job that might suite you better or even changing your career entirely. There is no shame in that.

But if you are happy with your fellow colleagues and the company you work for, then it comes down to changing small things.

What you can change in your workplace

This will all depend on the company you work for, but in general most companies will be fine with the below changes.

1. Make your desk your own – Some offices are a bit more strict than others, so if you’re not allowed letting your freak flag fly then you can make small changes like displaying pictures etc out of view from customers. Or you can get a funky keyboard or that awesome pen you’ve always wanted. Make it your own.
2. Get up every hour – Sitting is the new smoking. Getting up, stretching and moving around regularly is very important. If you forget or if your job is a bit more intense getting a Smart Watch to remind you is a great alternative.
3. Eat better lunches – Most people go for the easily available lunches. Best way to pack a healthier lunch is to pack it when you’re making dinner the previous night. You’re already busy in the kitchen so might as well do both. If you’re not into cooking, find a healthier food outlet you can order from. Uber eats has got your back.
4. Exercise – yeah, yeah, I know. Exercise is not for everyone, but if you like it or not it’s important. Getting about 30 minutes of exercise per day will do wonders for your health. So I absolutely hate exercise, so instead of joining a Gym I’ll never go to I got an Apple Watch, which tracks everything I do. That way I get my 30 minutes of exercise by doing daily tasks. I’ll take the stairs rather than the elevator, coz I know Imma gonna get those points. There are also thousands of fun workout videos on YouTube that you can do in the comfort of your own home for free. Find something that works for you.
5. Drink water – This one also feels like I’ve heard it a million times, but it’s true. Staying hydrated is very important for your overall wellbeing as it enables your body to work better. And by ‘hydrated’ I don’t mean tea, coffee or alcohol, I mean water.
6. Mental wellbeing – Keeping your mental health at top form is almost the most important thing of all. If your mind is clear and you’re confident, the rest just falls into place. Take time for yourself, sit in silence and think about then, now and tomorrow.
7. Alternative therapies – The majority of us jump at whatever pill is thrown our way, because it’s quick and it works. But does it really? Most chemicals only treat the symptoms and not the cause. Treatments like Ozone Therapy, helps your body to get rid of harmful toxins and impurities enhancing the effects of all the above.

What you can change in the workplace as an EMPLOYER

Creating a better work environment for your employees is the most important thing in the entire company. Without employees, companies will fold and cease to function. A happy employee is a good / loyal employee.

CEO Dan Price slashed his salary by 1 million USD to pay his employees a min of US$70k, ever since doing that sales have tripled. This is mainly due to the fact that his employees were not only happy, but also grateful. Thus working harder for the money they get.

Ok so not all employers can do that, but it just shows that happy employees are better employees. Here are a few things you can do:

1. Call a meeting – This is the easiest way to find out if or where problems within the company are.
2. Office furniture – Make sure to update office furniture on a regular basis. Take in consideration how much time a certain job description spends in their chair per day. Higher positions normally spend most of their days in boardrooms or on the go, whereas receptionist spend the majority of their day at their desk.
3. Office snacks – Snacking throughout the day is something most people do. Get a healthier option vending machine or when ordering out, only buy from healthier outlets.
4. Office morale – Ok so nobody really wants to party with their boss, but office morale is very important. Plan a monthly, get together in the boardroom with something special to eat like cake or doughnuts. If your office is more outgoing, go to a restaurant for drinks.
5. Office health – Over working employees are sometimes necessary and in most cases they are compensated for their hard work. But it’s important to balance work and health. Offering something like a gym, sauna room or even health vouchers to your employees is a great way of boosting employee health & wellness.

What Ozone Therapy can do for you?

Ozone therapy has over 100 health benefits, so I won’t be going in to all of them now, but lets look at everything I have mentioned so far.

Ozone relieves stress and anxiety as it improves oxygen levels in the blood, aiding in brain function, memory and problem solving. It also helps boost your immune system, which helps fight against viruses and bacteria. Ozone also assists in fighting Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as it boosts your energy levels, improves sleep and assists in cellular respiration.

Going for frequent ozone therapy sessions can drastically improve your overall wellbeing.

In conclusion

If you can’t improve your workplace environment, best bet is to find a job or environment that will suit you better. If you love your job and the people you work with, you’ll have to make changes to your environment, what your eating, exercise and looking in to non-invasive alternative therapies like ozone therapy, aromatherapy etc.

We hoped that you’ve found this blog helpful. Please let us know in the comment section below.

More on Ozone Therapy

We here at Salvagente offer Ozone Therapy Saunas to both the public as well as businesses, spas and clinics. You can view our range of Available Ozone Saunas HERE OR if you’d like to go for sessions, please go and check our out Outlet Page HERE