Team health

For twenty years I worked in offices. Although the official working hours were from 8am to 3pm, going home at that time was frowned upon. So at 15:00 we would go to the bar next door to eat a set menu and return to work at 16:00, to continue working until 19:00 or 20:00.

The idea was to take advantage of the afternoons to clear the backlog and hold team meetings because the phone hardly rang and there were fewer distractions.

Living in a city as big as Madrid, after work, most of us had a long commute home and all our family obligations. The prospect of doing sport after work was a utopia for many of us. We were exhausted.

After a few years, I decided to skip the daily lunch routine and take my food from home. I would eat at my desk, while I worked. It meant cooking at home the night before, but it allowed me to decide when and what to eat. My digestion and energy improved dramatically.

Afterwards, while the others were going to the restaurant, I would take a walk. In short, I tried to stay in the fresh air and move around a bit.

I longed to get out before work so I could do other activities, like going to the gym or just relaxing at home. So I started to get up a bit earlier in the morning, which significantly reduced the traffic congestion. I have a morning chronotype, so getting up early has never been difficult to me and my most productive hours are the first ones of the day.

In the evenings I started going to the gym and I signed up for an English course.

In short, I had realised that I had to improve my habits, my schedule and my time management.

I would have liked to have been encouraged to do so by my company.

Had they offered me training, support and flexibility to balance work and health care, and my family life.

I was trained in many business areas necessary to cope with my work, but stress was never openly discussed. How to spot the symptoms, ways to deal with it, when to ask for help and from whom. It was something that was suffered in silence and everyone dealt with it as best they could.

They never helped me to focus on the most important tasks. I was not given tools to manage time, to avoid distractions and unproductive chores.

Nor was I ever aware that, to perform at your best, you need to be physically strong, eat right, get enough rest and know how to manage yourself. Mindfulness was not such a buzzword ten years ago.

An employer who has a genuine concern for the wellbeing of their employees has already earned their loyalty.

In addition, learning these skills with your peers and co-workers helps to implement good habits. If those around you bring a salad from home for lunch, you will probably end up imitating them. Or maybe you’ll find a colleague to go for a walk after lunch, or to the gym on the way out.

A manager who knows the chronotypes of the people in his team knows that some will perform better in the morning, others in the afternoon. You can’t expect the same from everyone.

But what everyone wants is to improve their health and lifestyle. To flow. To have the resources to cope with difficulties. They just need a push to get started.

And if that push comes from the place where they spend most of their life, it will be beneficial for both the company and the employees.