Health at work
Health at work – who does not dream of it? It is not uncommon for us to have patients whose majority of complaints have their cause in the workplace. Starting with workplace circumstances such as long screen times, being exposed to many stimuli and especially the associated stress, which often leaves us extremely exhausted from purely sedentary work. In order to categorize the working conditions for us, we distinguish between the BLACK and BLUE flags in physiotherapy with a so-called flag system.
While Black Flags describe external working conditions and physical stress, BLUE Flags deal with one’s own perceptions and psychosocial stress states felt at work. Topics such as monetary working conditions are also included in the flag system.
So, as you can notice, bullet points around the world of work are identified in the case history and addressed together. Thus, strategies to improve physical stress such as tension after long periods of sitting and working (BLACK Flags), could be circumvented with a Post-It strategy. Further you could work on the design of the workplace (e.g. flowers, plants, pretty decoration, pleasant chair, scent) etc. to make the workplace a little bit more of a feel-good place, if the topic is more in the psychosocial area, i.e. BLUE Flags.
I’d love to tell you how I approach my Post-It strategy with my patients*.
THE POST IT STRATEGY:
On a normal working day that lasts 8h, write 8 exercises on Post-Its. Distribute them all over the workplace, but in such a way that they are visible (e.g. On the screen, on the water bottle, drawer, etc.). Then set an alarm every hour. Every time the alarm clock rings and an exercise catches your eye, do it for exactly 1 MINUTE! No more, but also no less. This 1 minute promotes circulation in your tissues and can very quickly help you leave your workstation without tension when the clock rings 4pm or later.
I hope this helps you feel a little more cheerful about your work situation. Enjoy fun and joy! So do we – and with a little bit of consistency you sometimes rise like a yeast dough 😉
