Can mobile workers achieve wellbeing nirvana?

Consider this quote with Beatriz Arantes, a Steelcase researcher who co-led a recent exploration of worker wellbeing:

“Western culture typically views the mind, the body and the environment separately, but science is showing that they are intricately linked, as Eastern cultures have long known. This means that wellbeing is more than ‘wellness,’ which is just concerned with physical health. Wellbeing is also not the same thing as ‘happiness,’ which is a transitory emotion that comes and goes. Wellbeing is sustaining a healthy physical and mental state over time, in a supportive material and social environment.” 

Although wellbeing is a multifaceted—and sometimes overwhelming—idea, at Workspring, we believe in taking a holistic approach. Try these five simple tactics for wellbeing at work:

(1) Seek out a variety of seating postures to support the task at hand. You need places where you can sit, stand, walk, perch or even squirm.

(2) Be cognizant of noise levels. You’ll need a choice of places, each designed with consciousness of sound for the task and the people using the spaces.

(3) Make time for purposeful breaks with healthy, energizing, and sustaining snacks and beverages. Need some snack inspiration? Check out this recent list from the Workspring team.

(4) Make time to nurture meaningful relationships. According to a recent Gallup study on global wellbeing, disengagement is an indicator for a subsequent diagnosis of depression, as well as an increase in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

(5) In this time of total cognitive overload, look for tools that help offload information. Make work visible, and even automate some functions to free up brain capacity for tackling complex problems.