A SWEET SOLUTION

IMAGINE A FUTURE WORK ENVIRONMENT WHERE SUGAR IS BANNED AND WALKING BREAKS ARE ENFORCED. ONE STUDY HAS RECOMMENDED HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF EMPLOYEES

Employers should outlaw sugar, encourage mental health breaks and send employees on a walk around the block if they want to get the best out of their workers, a study recommends.

The study, which is the result of surveys, research and interviews at offices around Australia, makes five recommendations for improving workplace output.

But a workplace health expert warns that a sugar prohibition is not be a cure-all for the problems affecting workers.

The study conducted by @Workspaces recommends:

● Cutting sugar from the office tea room.

● Implementing mental health breaks during the word day.

● Installing a privacy room to provide relief from the public nature of open-plan offices.

● Sending staff around the block for a walk by starting a steps program with a daily or weekly minimum.

● Removing all plastic utensils and making the office more environmentally friendly.

Company founder Mariska Folley says a healthy lifestyle was linked to a productive work output.

“It all comes down to health,” she says. “It affects all aspects of life if you are unbalanced and lifestyle and workplace are large contributors to that.

“Cutting out sugar helps workers achieve a healthier lifestyle. It is as simple as removing vending machines and sugar from the break room and replacing it with honey and bowls of fruit.”

The introduction of mental health breaks and privacy rooms is vital to addressing mental health issues caused by office work.

“Offices foster a particular mindset, being surrounded by people working hard can lead to feelings of guilt and anxiety,” Ms Folley says. “It is a mindset which needs to be watched and keeping a healthy lifestyle can help address it.”

University of Technology Sydney work health and stress expert Dr Robyn Johns says demonising sugar alone is not a remedy for workplace woes.

“While a workplace could replace sugar, I would suggest that sugar alone is unlikely to be the sole contributor to employee stress,” she says. “Organisations therefore need to look more broadly at workplace practices and culture with a view to mitigate the worst effects of stress through carefully designed workplace practices; merely outlawing sugar is not going to solve workplace stress.”

Dr Johns says that the layout of offices is a factor in workplace stress and wellness.

“It is commonly assumed that open-plan office layouts facilitate communication and interaction between workers, promoting workplace satisfaction and teamwork effectiveness,” Dr Johns says.

“But it is also widely acknowledged that they are more disruptive due to uncontrollable noise and loss of privacy.

“Privacy rooms could form part of a broader wellness culture, playing an important role as support spaces for confidential or private conversations.”

Cancer Council Queensland is behind a push to get office workers out of their chairs. The organisation is encouraging more workplaces to implement standing desks due to the fact that the average Queenslander spends about one third of their life at work and four in 10 adults aren’t active enough.