How to cultivate a healthier work environment with little actions?

If you are looking for 10 easy and effective actions you can take with your team right away, with little or no investment, this is your article.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity“. Other models include emotional, financial, spiritual and environmental well-being. In short:It’s all about balance. Companies who want to take care of their employees look at all of these pillars and create a dedicated wellbeing plan that goes from office setting and ergonomics to training and initiatives on mental & emotional wellbeing (eg. stress management) to fostering supportive and inclusive cultures. But where to start? With the fruit or with the new chairs or a training on posture? With the access to a sports club or more flexible working hours? Or by training the leaders to support their team in difficult situations? These initiatives are amazing, necessary and proven to work, but some of them take time, investment and planning. Here are 10 little actions with very little investments you can start with right away. And by the way the majority are from teams I currently work with and came up during our workshops. As the Tanzanian proverb says: “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

1. Open the windows / Take a breath of fresh air every hour
   If you have windows in your office or you work from home, open them regularly. There are studies showing that the “levels of CO₂ that can be found in bedrooms, classrooms and offices might have harmful effects on the body, including affecting cognitive performance“. (Source) And we know that we are human beings who need far more nature and fresh air that we get nowadays. So just open the windows every hour or – if you are in an office where you can’t open the windows – step outside once an hour to take a breath full of fresh air. And it’s a plus and additional wellbeing boost if you get some sunlight on your face!
   
   
2. Walking meetings
   Instead of sitting in a traditional office room, why don’t you suggest your colleague to do the meeting walking? Creativity comes not from sitting and looking into a screen, it often comes from moving so this will enhance a more productive and healthy reunion with better ideas. You can find an easy route around the block or in a near park and once you come back you might want to take a few minutes to write down your take-aways. By the way this also applies to you if you work in your home office or as freelancer and you can even suggest this to your client(s): “Hey why don’t we talk on the phone instead of meeting virtually and both go for a walk in the meantime?” Just try it. (More info)
   
   
3. A little movement session together in the office / online
   Why not have a 20 minutes session before lunch or just motivate everyone to stand up and sit down 10 times, stretch, roll neck and shoulders, do a few jumps, slowly close and open their eyes and all similar movements that help us reset, release tension and improve body posture. Nowadays there is a lot of free content on social media for very easy, effective moves and I’m sure there is at least one sports fan in the team who is happy to take over this part or every session is guided by someone else. Apart from the physical benefit, it makes people come together and smile! (If you want some inspiration – at Little healthy habits we guide you with our healthy breaks.)
   
   
4. Manage expectations (as a team)
   Is this To Do list realistic? Do we actually have time for another task? And: Is there space for urgent matters that come up? Motivating each other to have a realistic agenda by managing our expectations releases a lot of stress and unnecessary workload for the whole team. If you want to learn more, read this article: https://littlehealthyhabits.com/how-to-manage-your-expectations/.
   
   
5. Start a sports club
   There are already many companies that foster sports clubs created by employees whether it’s for running, golf, pádel/tennis, going to the gym together etc. as they are healthy activities outside of work that improve both the fitness level and the connection as a team. The only investment? Find the right communication channel for the initiative(s) and the employee(s) who is/are eager to lead such (an) initiative(s) (and maybe define the requirements and rules).
   
   
6. Define concentration / silence slots
   Many offices nowadays are open spaces and places where people talk (with each other or clients), move, come, go etc. and the constant movement and noise sometimes makes it hard to concentrate. According to Cal Newport’s “Deep work” theory: When we want to focus on tasks that demand our full focus (like strategy or something creative – as opposed to “shallow work” like E-Mails, chats), we need the right environment. Some people work well with music but for many people silence is crucial for concentration. So why not decide 2 slots of 30 minutes every day, as example, where the whole office just concentrates completely (without conversations, phones, …). Through a survey you can choose the best slot for everyone and just see what impact it has. You might be surprised. More info in this article: https://littlehealthyhabits.com/how-to-concentrate-better-and-avoid-distractions/
   
   
7. Inspire with your healthy snacks and enough water
   Does your team sometimes come together to share some sweets and coffee? Why not make a little challenge and motivate the team that every week someone else brings a healthy snack / dessert? Nowadays there are foodies among every team, people who know the newest trend and how to replace processed food with healthier, more natural ingredients. Give them their spot and make your get together healthy and nourishing for body and soul. If you work from home, share your best recipes with your colleagues so that everyone prepares their version at home. If you have something healthy on your desk eg. nuts, fruit, dark, chocolate, a home-made dessert,.. it’s more likely you satisfy your craving for sugar and on top you get some energy. And important: Always have WATER on your desk and fill up your glass / bottle frequently (you can also fill it up for your colleagues :).
   
   
8. Make your digital detox easy and your social media use harder
   We already know what the constant use of screens does to our brain so let’s take a pause from any screens at least once an hour to look somewhere else or talk to a colleague, grab some water, go for a walk, put on some music and dance together, whatever! And if you can find a way to make social media use harder, that’s a plus: Social media quickly raises our dopamine level but then it crashes down again and leaves us even more tired than before. If you work in front of a computer the whole day, make sure you turn off your phone notifications and limit your social media use to not strain your brain additionally. Best motivation: Leave your mobile in your coat or any other place far from your table. That way you will use it less AND you have to move to get it. And motivate your team to do the same!
   
   
9. Make breaks about connection
   We are social human beings who need to connect, share, laugh, discover and feel good – and breaks from the everyday rhythm are intended for that. If you work in a big company, try to have lunch or coffee every week with at least one person that you’ve never talked to before – that way you get to know new people and perspectives. If you work in a smaller company, share it with your team and maybe you can try a new restaurant or coffee shop every week. Or have 1 theme lunch every month (where 1 person cooks/takes care of the food order). Ask your colleagues how they are REALLY doing, what’s actually going on in their lives. Let’s make food and breaks about presence using our senses: smelling, tasting, observing, listening… and about the people around. You really don’t need anything else (especially no work tasks, emails or phone).
   
   
10. Share your ideas & favourite routines
    There are so many interesting ideas when you give your team the space to talk about connection, wellbeing, stress management, concentration, attention span etc. In one of the last workshops – in order to stop using their phones too much before sleeping, to get back to reading and improve sleep quality and attention – the team decided to start a book club where one person recommends a new read every week. Sharing is caring. Just like that there are so many great ideas because we are all unique. Use the talent and ideas you have in your team, let them try new initiatives!

As I said before, the majorities of these 10 little actions are from the teams I collaborate with and that’s why I’m so passionate about the Little healthy habits programs: It’s magical what happens when you bring the team together to share wellbeing hacks and routines and in general ideas to improve the work environment. The main investment is time but you get that time back multiplied by 10 with a focused, creative, healthy and collaborative team and workplace. Healthy teams thrive. And if you want company in the process, we’re here for you: hello@littlehealthyhabits.com.