Staying healthy has huge implications for anyone’s personal and professional life. Health is such a complex thing though that has many different contributing factors and interdependent dimensions. Diet, exercise, and stress levels are contributing factors that affect one’s mental, spiritual, and reproductive health, along with even more. Then there is the condition of health vis-à-vis whether a person is sick or not sick. Most people seek to maximize their health so they can minimize the negative effects of having poor health or being sick. Here is a look at staying your healthiest and its impact on the workplace.
 
Staying physically fit is a key factor to overall physical health. People who are physically fit on average have much more energy during the day and live longer in general. Is there an employer out there that wouldn’t want their employees to have more energy to do their jobs or live longer in general? Diet and exercise are key factors in increasing and maintaining one’s physical health, but don’t forget about getting enough sleep. If your workplace has a gym that is at least halfway nice, wouldn’t it be a great idea to utilize it instead of paying for a gym membership elsewhere or trying to workout at home but always getting distracted? Personal trainers also recommend packing a (healthy) meal to take to work instead of not deciding what to eat until the last minute while you’re working and settling for fast food, most of which is very unhealthy.
 
Having a high level of mental health can be more challenging because it is not as easy to measure or notice as one’s pants size or weight after stepping on a scale. But mental health is very important given how integral our brain is to just about everything we do. Having a high level of mental health prevents such things as mental breakdown or poor memory, and assists with such things as increased focus and better problem solving. It hasn’t always been the case, but more organizations are allowing employees to take time off from work where necessary to allow them to improve/focus on mental health.
 
In the COVID-19 era, staying not sick as important as ever. It used to be that employees could come in to work if they were a little sick but still able to do their job overall but now almost everyone is hyper-sensitive to sneezing, coughing, etc. That means having to take time off from work, for those who are going in to the office and most likely can’t do their job from home. The impact is that too much time leads to piling up of work for when you do get back into the office, other employees getting frustrated when a team is short-handed, and potentially long-term career growth stunted. Do your best to wash your hands regularly and keep your immune system strong!