RWL039 Creating an Active and Healthy Remote Work Environment

Physical Impact of Remote Work

Speaker 1
0:00

Hey
,

it's

Alex

from

Remote

Work

Life

here
.

I

hope

you're

doing

well
,

wherever

you

may

be

in

the

world
.

I

want

to

thank

you

for

listening

to

the

Remote

Work

Life

podcast
.

If

you're

new

to

the

show
,

then

you

are

very
,

very

welcome
,

and

if

you're

a

regular

listener
,

thank

you

so

much

for

coming

back

and

listening

to

little

old

me
.

I

hope

the

shows

are

of

use

and

if

you

have

any

ideas
,

any

sort

of

comments

that

you

want

to

make
,

please

get

in

touch

with

me

via

the

link

below

in

the

show

notes
.

Contact

me

via

linkedin
.

Even

if

you

don't

have

any

comments
,

just

say

hello
,

just

so

I

know

that

there's

somebody

out

there
.

Speaker 1
0:36

And

today

I

want

to

speak

to

something
.

Speak

about

something

that's

probably

not

spoken

about

enough
,

I

don't

think

in

terms

of

working

from

home

or

working

from

your

remote

location
,

wherever

you

may

be

in

the

world
,

and

that

is

the

physical

impact

of

remote

work
,

the

potential

physical

impact

of

remote

work
.

Given

that

we
,

as

remote

workers
,

are

perhaps

more

responsible

for

our

own

office

setup

and

our

own

sort

of

day-to-day

structure
,

I

think

we

should

talk

about

the

physical

impact
,

or

the

potential

physical

impact
,

of

the

work

that

we

do

on

a

day-to-day

basis
,

and

this

is

something

that

has

affected

me

actually

in

some

ways

as

well
.

So

the

reason

I'm

doing

it
,

or

the

reason

I'm

talking

about

it

today
,

is

because

I

want

you

to

sort

of

just

be

aware

of

it
.

And

I

think

also

we

talk

quite

a

lot

about

the

mental

impacts

these

days
,

don't

we
?

The

aspects

of
,

I

guess
,

just

the

day-to-day

pressures

mentally

that

occur

working

alone

and

working

remotely
,

working

from

a

remote

location
,

but

I

don't

think

we

talk

enough

about

the

potential

physical

aspects

as

well
.

I

mean

the

mental

aspects
.

They

are

very

important

and

I

think

the

physical

aspects

are

important

too
.

Speaker 1
2:05

I

want

to

just

cover

eight

points

actually
,

and

the

first

point

really

is

something

related

to

I

well
,

the

fact

that

I

was

reading

the

nhsuk

website

and

the

NHS

is

the

national

health

service

here

in

the

UK

where

I'm

based

and

I

was

reading

up
.

It

was

interesting
.

It

says

on

their

website

there

is

an

increasing
,

there

is

increasing

evidence

that

unless

you

are

a

wheelchair

user
,

sitting

down

too

much

can

be

a

risk

to

your

health
.

To

reduce

our

risk

of

ill

health

from

from

inactivity
,

we

are

advised

to

exercise

regularly
,

at

least

150

minutes

a

week
,

and

reduce

sitting

time
.

Studies

have

linked

being

inactive

with

being

overweight

and

obese
,

type

2

diabetes
,

some

types

of

cancer

and

early

death
.

Sitting

for

long

periods

is

thought

to

slow

metabolism
,

which

affects

the

body's

ability

to

regulate

blood

sugar
,

blood

pressure

and

break

down

body

fat
.

Many

adults

in

the

UK

spend

around

nine

hours

a

day

sitting
.

This

includes

watching

TV
,

using

computers
,

reading
,

doing

homework
,

travelling

by

car
,

bus

or

train
,

and

does

not

include

sleep
.

So

there's

some

pretty

stark

points

there
,

as

you

can
,

about

the

potential

impacts

of

too

much

sitting
,

and

this

is

the

first

thing

actually

on

my

list
,

I

think

educating

yourself

about

the

potential

impacts

of

sitting
,

and

it's

not

just

the

ones

I've

mentioned
.

Speaker 1
3:40

Actually
,

sitting

has

had

an

impact

on

me
,

or

has

an

impact

on

me

in

some

ways
,

because

earlier

on

in

my

my

remote

career
,

when

I

was

working

from

home
,

I

was
,

as

I

said
,

responsible

for

my

own

office

kit

and

I

silly

well

you

know
,

stupidly
,

I

guess

you

could

say

started

to

use

my

kitchen

table

and

my

kitchen

chair

to

sit

down

on

to

do

my

work

and

this

really

wreaked

havoc

with

my

lower

back
.

I

mean
,

I

had

underlying

issues

to

begin

with
,

but

this

just

exacerbated

the

problem

I

was

using
.

I

can't

believe

it

now
.

I

mean
,

this

was

some

10

years

ago

now
,

but

I

started

to

use

my

own

chair

sorry
,

my

coffee
,

not

my

coffee

table

my

dining

room

table

and

my

dining

room

chair
,

and

this

was

really

uncomfortable

in

my

back
.

I

wasn't

back

then

as

aware

as

I

am

now

Then
,

as

aware

as

I

am

now
.

That's

why

I

think

education

is

so

important

and

reading

up

on

the

some

exercise

or

move

around

or
,

you

know
,

make

sure

you've

got

the

right

equipment
,

and

I'm

going

to

talk

about

that

a

little

bit

later

down

the

line
.

So

really

educate

yourself

about

what
,

what
,

what

it

is
,

the

consequences

are

and

what

you

need

to

do

about

them

for

your

own

set

of

circumstances
.

Speaker 1
5:25

And

this

is

this

leads

me

on

to

point

number

two
,

and

that

is

seek

professional

advice

if

you

have

the

onset

of

something

or

if

you

feel

something
.

Often

your

body

tells

you

when

something's

not

right
.

For

me
,

I

felt

pain

in

my

lower

back

and

that

pain

became

more

and

more

persistent

for

me
,

and

it

was

at

that

point

that

I

thought

to

myself

I

need

to

do

something
,

I

need

to

go

and

see

something
,

somebody

about

this
.

I

went

and

saw

my

doctor
,

first

and

foremost
.

I

also

went
,

and

after

that

was

referred

to

a

chiropractor

and

also

to

physiotherapy
.

I

did

did

Pilates
,

I

did

yoga
,

and

right

now

I

do

a

lot

more

in

terms

of

my

own
,

I

suppose
,

my

own

natural

process

during

my

day
.

Well
,

it's

not

quite

natural

for

me
,

but

I

do

a

lot

more

in

terms

of

implementing

things

that

can

benefit

my

back

and

just

lessen

the

problems

that

I'm

having

with

my

back
.

Speaker 1
6:27

But

for

you
,

the

problems

may

be

different
.

They

may
,

you

know
,

relate

to

some

of

the

things

I

mentioned

earlier
.

So

you

need

to

try

to

find

as

much

as

you

possibly

can

and

get

as

much

advice

as

you

possibly

can

on

how

you

can

remedy

or

at

least

lessen

the

impacts

of

any

potential

problems
.

Or

from

the

very
.

You

know

what

they

say

is

prevention

is

better

than

cure
.

At

the

very

least
,

you

should

start

to

do

these

things

before

you

experience

any

sort

of

symptoms

or

any

sort

of

pain

or

anything

like

that
.

So

these

are

things

that

you

should

be

doing

as

a

matter

of

course
,

whether

you

are

feeling

something

physically

or

not
,

so

seeking

professional

advice
.

Speaker 1
7:09

And

then
,

third

point

on

my

list

is

make

sure

you

have

some

structure

in

your

day
.

And

what

do

I

mean

by

this
?

When

I

first

started

out
,

I

just

sat

for

9
,

10
,

11
,

sometimes

even

longer

than

that
.

When

I

think

about

it
,

I

sat

and

I

sat

and

I

sat
.

I

didn't

think

about

having

breaks
,

uh
,

between

you

know

each

part

of

my

working

day
.

And

when

I

look
,

I'm

looking

at

this

article

on

the

NHS

website
.

I

think

what

they're

suggesting

is

set

a

reminder

to

get

up

every

30

minutes
,

and

that's

quite

a

lot

when

you

think

about

it
.

Every

30

minutes

is

quite

a

lot

if

you're

working

a

9

or

10

hour

day
,

but

I

think
,

at

the

very

least
,

you

should

be

getting

up
.

And

this

is

not

me

giving

you

professional

advice
,

but

for

my

situation
,

what

I

do

is

I

get

up

at

least

every

hour

and

I

move

around

or

I

do

some

form

of

stretching
,

and

that's

hard

baked

into

my

day
,

that's

hard

baked

into

the

structure

of

my

day

Because
,

as

I

said
,

I

don't

want

these

issues

with

my

back

to

get

any

worse
.

Speaker 1
8:25

I

don't

want

these

issues
,

or

these

potential

issues

that

are

described

by

the

NHS

website
,

to

begin

to

rear

their

head

because
,

as

I

said
,

having

a

very

sedentary

lifestyle

to

begin

with

is

one

thing
,

but

working

from

home

is

another

thing

where
,

as

I

said
,

nobody

is

there

to

tell

you

to

get

up

or

your

friends

are

not

just

there

sitting

next

to

you

and

suggesting

let's

go

down

the

road

and

get

our

lunch

or

our

breakfast

or

whatever

it

may

be
.

You're

just

there

to

take

responsibility

for

your

own

actions
.

So

having

that

structure

to

your

day

is

really
,

really

important
.

And

point

number

four

on

my

list

it's

all

well

and

good

having

a

structure

to

your

day
,

but

if

you're

not

going

to

be

disciplined

in

implementing

that

structure
,

there's

no

point

having
.

The

structure

is

there
.

So

that's

point

number

four

Be

disciplined
.

Speaker 1
9:13

Make

sure

that

if

you

have

that

structure

in

your

day
,

or

at

least

if

you've
,

you

know
,

organised

what

the

structure

will

be

at

the

very

least

you

owe

it

to

yourself

to

discipline

yourself

to

get

up

every

30

minutes

or

every

60

minutes

or

whatever

it

may

be

for

you
,

and

do

that

until

it

becomes

habitual
,

may

be

for

you

and

do

that

until

it

becomes

habitual
.

Do

it

on

a

day-to-day

basis

and

you'll

begin

to

feel

the

positive

effects

of

doing

that
.

And

at

the

very

least
,

I

think

getting

up

away

and

getting

away

from

your

desk
,

getting

away

from

your

computer

gives

you

room

and

time

to

think

and

breathe

and

contemplate

and

in

some

times
,

just

really

separate

yourself

from

the

work

that

you're

doing
.

So

when

you

come

back

to

your

desk

you

feel

refreshed
,

and

that's

that's

for

me

anyway
.

It

may

be

different

for

you
,

but

that's

that's

what

I

get

when

I
,

when

I
,

separate

myself

from

my

computer

screen
.

So
,

yeah
,

the

physical

consequences
.

You

can

lessen

that

by

having

that

structure
.

But

number

four

is

being

disciplined

with

that

structure

on

a

day-to-day

basis

until

it

becomes

a

habit
.

Speaker 1
10:21

Point

number

five

on

my

list

is

is

stretch

regularly

and

this

is

something

that

is

particularly

relevant

to

me
.

As

I

said

to

you

before
,

um
,

I've

got

some

issues

with

my
,

with

my
,

and

those

issues

are
,

I

thought

were
,

to

do

with

my

skeletal

sort

of

makeup
.

I

thought

my

back

was

hurting

me

because

I

had

some

sort

of

problem

with

my

I

don't

know

my

spine

or

something

like

that
,

and

I

thought

it

was

the

actual

bones

in

my

spine

that

was

giving

me

the

problem
.

And

this

is

probably

from
,

or

was

from
,

my

ignorance

and

my

lack

of

education

from

the

outset

and

my

lack

of

insight
.

From

seeing

a

professional
,

what

I

learned

was

a

lot

of

my

back

problems

arise

because

of

this

sitting
.

They're

not

only

just

because

of

the

sitting
,

but

they

arise

and

they

show

their

ugly

head

because

of

the

sitting

and

because

I

didn't

stretch
.

Speaker 1
11:20

Because

you

know
,

if

you're

stretching

your

glutes
,

if

you're

stretching

your

hamstrings
,

it's

all

connected

to
,

you

know
,

the

muscles

in

your

lower

back
,

the

tendons
,

all

that

sort

of

thing
,

and

that

can

really

help

get

the

blood

flowing

in

your

abdominal

areas
,

which

in

turn

can

have

beneficial

effects

on

your

back
.

And

this

is

by

no

means

me

giving

you

advice

on

what

to

do

about

your

back

because
,

as

I

said
,

each

circumstance
,

each

situation

is
,

you

know
,

is
,

I

don't

know
,

it's

not

one

size

fits

all
.

Your

circumstances

are

different

to

mine
.

But

what

I'm

saying

is

if

you're

stretching
,

you're

promoting

health

and

I

think

it's

important

that

you

do

the

right

stretches
.

Go

to

your

professional

and

ask

them

what

stretches

are

right

for

you
.

For

example
,

for

me
,

twisting

my

back

is

not

good
,

it

doesn't

help

me

at

all
.

But

if

I
,

for

example

I

don't

know

stretch

my

glutes

or

massage

my

glutes

and

my

hamstrings

and

stretch

my

hamstrings
,

etc
.

That

does

really

help

me
.

So

it's

on

a

case-by-case

basis
.

So
,

stretching
,

make

sure

stretching

is

part

of

your

day
,

okay
,

so

that's

point

where

we're

at
.

That

was

point

number

five
.

Point

number

six

is

okay
,

stretching

is

all

well

and

good
,

but

exercising

is

also

important

as

well
.

Speaker 1
12:43

And
,

again
,

for

my

situation
,

I

try

to

walk
.

You

know

there's

a

big

thing

now

about

office

fitness
.

As

we

become

more

and

more

aware

of

the

sorts

of

things

that

we

should

be

doing
,

more

and

more

people
,

more

and

more

businesses
,

in

fact
,

are

beginning

to

try

to

promote

this

physical

fitness
.

You

may

even

have

seen

some

of

the

walking

desks

or

the

treadmill

desks

that

are

now

becoming

quite

popular
,

and

these
,

you

know
,

for

good

reason
,

and

you

know

going

for

a

walk

for

30

minutes

or

walking

while

you're

working
,

in

fact

is

is

potentially

something

that

could

could

really

take

off
,

could

be

something

that

could

really

help

you

with

your
,

your

metabolism
,

help

you

with

just

getting

that

blood

circulating

around

your

body
.

And

you

know

we

should

go

for

a

walk

in

any

case
.

Anyway
,

if

we

can

do

that
,

we

should

walk

around
,

we

should

do

some

form

of

exercise

just

to

get

the

blood

flowing

around

our

body
.

So

stretching

is

one

thing
,

exercising

is

another
.

So
,

and

if

you

can't
,

you

know
,

if

you

can't
,

you

know
,

if

you

can't

get

a

treadmill
,

then

at

the

very

least

maybe

try

just

to

move

yourself

around

your

office

space
,

you

know
,

or

just

go

for

a

walk
,

just

go
.

Just

get

get

away

from

your

computer
,

shut

everything

down

and

head

out

and

just

go

for

a

walk
,

walk

to

the

shop

wherever

it

may

be
.

That's

point

number

Optimizing Office Fitness for Remote Work

Speaker 1
14:16

six
.

Speaker 1
14:16

Point

number

seven

is

make

sure

that

your

office

is

kitted

out

properly
,

and

by

this

I

mean

getting

a

chair

that

suits

you
.

I

have

an

ergonomic

chair

because

of

my

back
.

It

supports

my

coccyx
.

I

have

lumbar

support

as

well
.

I

have
,

you

know
,

it

supports

my

back

in

the

right

way
.

It's

at

the

right

height
.

So
,

for

example
,

I

think

the

technical
,

the

technical

aspect

um

to

consider

here

is

that

your

hips

should

be

higher

than

your

knees

when

you're

sitting

down
,

when
,

when

you're

actually
,

when

your

feet

are

touching

the

ground
.

If

your

hips

are

below

or

in

line

with

your
,

your

knees
,

then

I

I

think

what

they

say
,

or

what

the

professionals

say
,

is

that

is

putting

some

sort

of

strain

or

it's

putting

your

back

at

risk
.

Speaker 1
15:07

So

make

sure

that

you
,

after

you've

got

all

your

advice
,

after

you've

um

done

all

your

research
,

get

yourself

a

proper

chair

and

I

know

some

of

these

chairs

can

be

quite

expensive
,

some

of

these

ergonomic

chairs

can

be

quite

expensive

but

what

price

can

you

put

on

your

health

and
,

as

I

said
,

if

you're

sitting

at

home
,

if

you're

a

remote

worker
,

you're

likely

to

be

sitting

for

long

periods

of

time

and

having

that

proper

desk
,

having

that

proper

chair
,

can

be

beneficial

to

you

in

the

long

run
,

and

I

think

you

should

look

at

it

as

an

investment

as

well
.

It's

great

working

from

home
,

it's

great

working

from

wherever

you

may

be
,

it's

great

having

that

flexibility
.

And

another

great

thing

is

the

fact

that

you

can

customize

your

office

to

the

way

in

which

you

want

it
.

It's

not

likely

if

you

are

working

in

a

co-located

scenario

I

know

lots
,

a

lot

of

offices

are

are

investing

in

ergonomic

chairs

etc
,

desk

etc
.

But

what

you

can

do

if

you

work

from

home

is

you

can

choose

the

desk

that

suits

you
,

you

can

choose

the

chair

that

suits

you
.

You

can

choose

the

chair

that

suits

you
,

so

you

can

make

your

office

suit

your

particular

circumstances
.

Speaker 1
16:22

And

the

other

thing

where

office

fitness

is

concerned

as

well
,

is

that

you

can

invest

in

what's

called

a

sit-stand

desk
.

I

don't

know

if

you've

seen

them

and

I'm

going

to

talk

about
.

In

fact
,

that's

my

last

point
.

Point

number

eight

is

don't

sit

all

day
.

I

mean

I

right

now
,

as

I'm

making

this

podcast
,

I'm

standing

up
.

I

don't

like

sitting

for

too

long

and

that's

because

I

have

a

sit-stand

desk
.

Speaker 1
16:51

A

sit-stand

desk

is

basically

what

it

sounds
.

It

allows

you

to

sit

for

however

long

you

want

and

when

you

want

to

stand

up

to

work
,

you

can
.

You

can

adjust

the

desk

to

a

height

that's

good

for

you

and

you

can

stand

up
.

And

again
,

research

shows

that

sitting

down

you

know
,

the

actual

act

of

sitting

down

can

have

an

impact

on

on

your

body
.

So

sitting
,

sitting

down

for

long

periods

of

day

is

is

not

really

on
.

So

you

may

want

to

invest

in

a

sit-down

desk

if

you

and

again
,

they're

quite

expensive
.

They

can

be

quite

expensive
,

but

again
,

your

health

is

at

stake

here
,

your
,

your

long-term

health
.

So

really

consider

um

investing

in

something

like

that
.

And

if

you

can't

afford

the

actual

desk
,

I

I've

also

seen

that

they

have

consoles

now

that

you

can

actually

put

on

your

current

desk
,

which

allows

you

to
.

These

consoles

allow

you

to

elevate

your

computer

to

the

height

that

you

want

to

when

you're

standing

up

and

lower

the

computer

down

when

you

want

to

sit

down
.

Speaker 1
17:56

So

don't

sit

down

all

day
.

Make

sure

that

you're

standing

up

for

a

period

of

time

to

give

some

relief

to

your

back

and

to

your

other

muscles
,

etc
.

Or

your

muscles
,

should

I

say

not

your

other

muscles
,

your

muscles

and

you

find

some

people

as

well
.

Sometimes

I

actually

do

some

stretching

while

I'm

sitting

down
.

So

if

I'm

in

a

sort

of

process

of

thinking

about

what

I'm

doing

and

I'm

not

actually

actively

typing

or

writing

or

doing

something
,

I

will

actually

stretch
.

There

are

some

stretches

that

you

can

do

while

you're

sitting

down

and
,

again
,

you

can

do

some

research

on

that
,

just

to

see

which

stretches

suit

your

circumstances
,

just

to

see

which

stretches

suit

your

circumstances
.

So

that's

it

for

me
.

Speaker 1
18:44

Really
,

look

up

office

fitness

and

have

a

look

to

see

what

products

and

what

exercises

and

what

advice

and

evidence

and

research

you

can

pull

out

to

get

more

of

an

understanding
.

Because
,

as

I

said

before
,

mental

health

is

really

something

that's

at

the

forefront

at

the

moment
,

and

rightly

so
,

because

mental

health

is

is

important
,

especially

where

us

remote

workers

are

concerned
.

But

physical

let's

not

neglect

the

physical

consequences

and

physical

aspects

where

remote

work

is

concerned

or

working

from

home

or

wherever

you

may

work

from

is

concerned
,

and

let's

not

neglect

those

things
.

I'd

love

to

hear

what

you're

doing

with

regards

your

setup
,

your

office

setup
.

Do

you

have

a

particular

type

of

chair

or

do

you

have

a

particular

type

of

desk

that

you

use
?

Let

me

know
.

Comment

in

the

review

section
.

Promoting Office Fitness in Remote Work

Speaker 1
19:36

Please

give

me

a

star

rating

if

you've

enjoyed

this

episode

or

if

you're

enjoying

the

podcast
.

Contact

me
,

as

I

said

before
,

via

LinkedIn
.

Send

me

an

email
,

say

hello
,

tell

me

what

you're

doing

with

regards

to

your

office

fitness
.

Tell

me
,

just

tell

me
.

You

know

how

you

go

about

organising

your

day
,

your

structure

to

your

day
,

what

you

do
,

what

tips

you

have
,

any

hacks

that

you

use

to

actually

make

things

go

better

for

you
.

So

you

don't

have

a

sedentary

existence
,

and

I

encourage

you
,

as

a

fellow

remote

worker
,

just

to

be

a

bit

more

active
,

just

for

the

benefit

of

your

long-term

health
.

Anyway
,

let

me

know

if

there

are

any

topics

that

you

want

me

to

talk

about

and

I

will

see

you

on

the

next

episode
.