There’s a good chance your sitting at your desk at work as you read this. In fact, if you’re like 80 percent of Americans, you sit at your desk all day and only get up for meetings, visits to the copier, bathroom breaks, and fetching coffee or water.
Fifty years ago, a large portion of Americans worked in farming and manufacturing, but our national economy matured and the job market changed. Agriculture became mechanized, and our factories relocated to Asia and Latin America. In that shift, more of us found work which made us sit at desks for eight to ten hours a day, and as a nation, we became fat.
So, why aren’t all you desk jockeys out running long distance in your spare time or working out at the gym three times a week? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common elements that prevent physical activity are lack of time, inconvenience, lack of motivation, lack of enjoyment for exercise, boredom with exercise, low self-confidence, fear of injury, lack of discipline, lack of encouragement, and an inappropriate physical environment.
A workplace with health policies and a culture of wellness can be instrumental to overcoming these barriers. In fact, if we could just get out of our chairs to walk a little bit each day, it would help a lot. Walking meetings, sneaker days, and treadmill workstations are a few workplace innovations that burn calories, while enhancing productivity and employee satisfaction. Also, local businesses can benefit from California tax incentives if they subsidize employees’ transit passes or bicycle commuting expenses, which also promote physical activity.
But, staff shouldn’t expect management to take care of everything for them. It would be great to leave home a little early and park a few blocks from the office in the morning. We all want to rush home after a long day at the office, but why not start and end the workday with a healthful stroll? Plus, the lunch hour is a great time to go for a walk and enjoy San Diego’s beautiful climate.
Contrary to common belief, exercise does not need to be strenuous or overly time consuming to be beneficial. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), walking for just 30 minutes a day reduces stomach fat (so you’ll look and feel better). Plus, it has been shown to lower the likelihood of diabetes, breast cancer, and premature death. The AHA also says that every hour of exercise extends our lives by two hours.
There is a workplace wellness movement burgeoning in San Diego. The county Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) got the ball rolling with its Health Strategy Agenda, a major preventive health plan which will drive $10 billion of public health spending over the next ten years. One of the four tenets of this plan is called “Changing the Culture from Within,” through which the county of San Diego is modeling exemplary workplace wellness practices to promote employee exercise, nutrition, and smoking cessation. In fact, to walk the talk, HHSA Director Nick Macchione greatly improved his own health and fitness, losing 36 pounds in the months prior to rolling out the Health Strategy Agenda. Macchione has been enthusiastic about promoting the “Healthy Bottom Line” principle to businesses throughout San Diego County, and he is particularly interested in reaching small businesses with ten or fewer employees.
Community Health Improvement Partners (CHIP), a local public health think-tank and advocacy group, is getting in on the action, too. In March 2010, the organization established ICANATWORK, a coalition of local business leaders, CEOs, human resource directors and wellness experts that help each other adopt effective wellness strategies. Participation in ICANATWORK is free, and there are currently 65 participating members. The program hosts monthly events at which members learn about best practices in worksite wellness from experts and their peers. To learn more about ICANATWORK or to become a member, contact Tyler Wagner, Manager of Business and Community Relations at CHIP.
Written by Dylan Mann: Dylan Mann lives in Linda Vista. He is also a Thomas Murphy Research Fellow at The San Diego Foundation, advising Health and Human Services grant programs.
