I have a client who struggles to find time to get to the gym. Recently, I put together a very simple kettlebell routine for him that could be done in 30 minutes. With a gym right across the street it would be easy for him to squeeze this in during his lunch break. Once back he could eat a packed lunch that he brought at his desk. The problem – he does not take a lunch break.
This is not an easy issue to deal with but one of the first steps is to recognize it. The U.S. invests a great deal of attention towards health concerns such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. As obesity and the costs of weight related diseases rise we actively search for ways to counteract the problem. Usually, our solutions involve attempts at direct remedies. We look to more exercise, new diet trends, corporate wellness initiatives, and more. What we sometimes miss are some of the soul searching questions that need to be asked as well.
How, for example, can we expect to invest time in our health if our work days have become so hectic and the pressure so high that we cannot allow ourselves a single hour break for lunch? This is not a question of individual behaviors, this a question of societal norms. Long work days in which more is produced with the same or less resources is a trend with consequences. Gallup has a great report here that highlights the fact that merely offering a wellness program for employees does not mean that their health will improve. There are many more factors than just having something on offer, not the least of which is encouragement to actually use it. Setting an expectation of having to be at your desk with no real breaks may be in the way of achieving that goal.
For many, the idea of exercise is already not a thrilling proposition. If we as a nation would nonetheless like to see ourselves making a commitment to our health and fitness then we must not allow the very expectations of our day to become stumbling blocks towards making those commitments. This is not an issue affecting everyone but there are plenty of people out there that do face this situation daily. Let’s bring this issue forward and see where the conversation takes us.
Further Reading
http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/168995/why-workplace-wellness-program-isn-working.aspx
http://www.livescience.com/22291-what-happened-lunch-break.html
photo: Lunch break + Calligrapomorphic, by Mo Riza, license
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[…] real movement during the day by taking an actual lunch break for example (something I wrote about here). Get up, out of the office, and go walk for your food. Something as simple as that would be a […]