Beat the post-New Year’s Eve party-return-to-work-blues.

24/09/2007

Are you one of those people that look forward to every available holiday and dreads going back to work afterwards? These feelings of depression and dread can be at their worst once the New Year’s Eve party is over. You wake up on New Year’s Day and decide that it is time to do something about your work situation.

Here are a few tips published by the The Times Online who recently carried out some research on the ten best ways to make your working life better. If this is one of your New Year’s Eve party resolutions then read on.

The first tip is to introduce a couple of days each week when you go home early. The University of California recently conducted research that found that the longer you work the higher your chances of increased blood pressure. They found that if either gender works for forty hours a week they had a 14% increase in the risk of hypertension compared to those who worked 11 to 39 hours a week.

Stop using the elevator and take the stairs. Taking the stairs lowers your cholesterol, gives you a healthier heart and lungs and lowers your weight states research from the University of Ulster.

Having a sore neck, shoulders or back from an incorrect screen position won’t make you productive and happy at work. So, move your computer screen so it ergonomically fits with your body dimensions. Make sure that the top of the screen is at your eye level.

Buy some office friendly pot plants such as the Peace Lily. Pot plants have been found to reduce the risk of blocked noses and dry throats within the office environment. They do this by releasing much needed moisture into the air, which is often taken out by office air conditioning. Dry skin, throat and nose symptoms were found to be reduced by 23% in offices with pot plants by the National Institute of Occupational Health in Oslo. They also found that coughing was reduced by 37% and fatigue by 30%. Buy pot plants for you and your office colleagues for New Year’s Eve party presents for a fresher, healthier office.

Reduce email stress by only checking your email twice a day. Paisley University researchers found that by turning off your instant messaging system and rationing your email checking will reduce work place stress. They found that one in three workers were suffering from email stress as some were checking their email 40 times a minute.

Talking about your work place pressures and emotional ups and downs with friends, family, a professional therapist or even a diary will help to reduce work place stress. The Journal of Stress and Health in 2003 found that those they had asked to keep an “emotion diary” to express their feelings found that they had better health overall and reduced amounts of stress. Keeping all our emotions tucked up inside can lead to heart disease and depression.

Researchers in Iowa have found that when office affairs go wrong they can be quite damaging to the overall office morale and increase depression levels in the office. For better office health steer clear of the office romance.

Tip number eight is to be wise in your desk choices. Stay away from the printer as they can cause inside pollution with the fumes they release and try to get a desk by the window. Researchers at Sweden’s Lund Institute of Technology found that sitting by the window can increase good mood levels. Also, ensure that you have a well-lit office. Working in a dark office can lower your mood.

Consider decorating your office or cubicle. Researchers at the University of Texas found that those that work in mostly blue-green or white offices had a higher perceived job satisfaction and performance as well as better moods. Red offices were found to decrease perceived job satisfaction and performance and lower moods. Having the wrong colour can lead to depression and headaches. Bring in mementoes from home that make you feel better when you look at them can also help.

Lastly, if you feel that all these tasks to help with the post-New Year’s Eve party-back-to-work blues just won’t make you feel better about going back to work then the final tip from The Times research was to think about becoming self-employed. Taking the plunge to work for yourself is a major life challenge but those who are self-employed have higher levels of job satisfaction and a reduction in stress.