How Health Affects Work and Work Affects Health

There are only 24 hours a day. And in that 24 hours, a minimum of 8 hours is spent at work. Adding the extra work hours and travel time, more than half of the day is spent outside of our homes. The stress that these times may bring to our body can cause detrimental effects on us. Our health also affects our performance at work, at the same time.

How Health Affects Performance

If we are healthy, we are more productive. We take fewer absences, meaning that there are fewer chances of work piling up after taking time to rest. Being healthy also means that we are more motivated to work, recover faster from sickness, and are less prone to long-term ailments.

And this is not just the physical health that we’re talking about, but also mental. Mental health problems affect employees but these are usually hidden at work. As a result, most of these problems go unrecognized, untreated, and may damage an individual’s career and productivity at work.

How Work Affects Health

In a poll done by CNN Philippines, 23 percent of over 200 respondents cited job (or studies) as the main cause of their stress. And this stress can cause are headaches or stomachaches or make existing problems work. Multiple studies show that some sudden emotional stresses—especially anger—can trigger heart attacks, arrhythmias, and even death.

Aside from stress, sitting for a long time has some bad effects. The human body is designed for regular movement. We have higher chances of organ damage when we sit too long according to some studies. Examples are heart diseases, damage to the pancreas, diabetes, cancer. Other effects are bad digestion, brain damage, posture problems, muscle degeneration, and leg disorders.

Environmental factors, too, affect our health. Poor air quality can affect the respiratory system. And pieces of furniture that are not ergonomic can affect the musculoskeletal system.

Organizations need to understand that workplace health is important. Now, it’s not just enough to offer basic medical aid to employees. We need to be actively concerned with how we could promote good health not just on ourselves, but to others in our respective organizations. And, in the long run, these changes will help the organization big time.