Five Simple Steps to Wellness in the Workplace

  June 4th 2013 Hong Kong is a fast-paced city, especially if you’re working in its world-renowned business sector. Expats and locals alike are both highly ambitious and industrious, which is great for productivity but can be taxing on the body. Ours is a city characterised by its citizens’ dedication to burn the candle at both ends. But when long work days and high-pressure deadlines are combined with an active social life, many of us are left stressed and sleep-deprived. Good health and a prosperous career don’t have to be mutually exclusive however. In this Hong Kong Guide to Wellness in the Workplace, compiled in conjunction with Kwiksure, we take you through five simple steps for balancing a healthy lifestyle with a demanding workload.

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  1) Find the Right Path Firstly, and most importantly, you need to pursue the career that’s right for you. Many people find themselves stuck in a job they just fell into, with no idea of how to change course and no desire to start again from square one. But if you’re unhappy in your job or have members of your team who aren’t fulfilling their potential, true harmony and business wellbeing can never be achieved. Career coaching will help you assess your skills and passions and put you on the right path for life. Ignition Career Coaching helps lost souls find their niche and maximize their potential through one-on-one mentoring sessions both for individuals and within organisations. Take the free 30-minute consultation before receiving insightful reports on the best way to achieve your business dream.

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  2) Improve Your Skills and Obliterate Stress Good communication with co-workers and clients is vital for good business, as is the ability to adapt to the changing landscape by arming yourself with new skills. Whether you’re having trouble getting your point across in the boardroom or feeling insecure about your tech skills, good employee training can lead to ultimate job satisfaction. Central-based iEdge Consulting boasts 21 years’ experiencing hosting specialist employee training courses all around the world. From IT and finance workshops to personal development and presentation skills crash courses, these guys have all the tools you need to be at the top of your game. Their innovative Women in Leadership series is not to be missed if you’re a feisty female looking to make your mark in a male dominated world! Priding themselves of “transforming thinkers into creators”, General Assembly tutors in-depth practical business skills, specifically within the realms of technology and design. Whether you’ve only got time for a 90-minute shotgun seminar or you’re down for a career changing 16-week intensive course, the host of entrepreneurs and experts at General Assembly ensure you’re getting the best advice in the business. Why not add another feather to your bow by acquiring skills in front-end web development, digital marketing or product management?

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  3) Boost your Respiratory System with Fresh, Clean Air As attractive as Hong Kong is to expats and foreign investors, the city is unfortunately equally popular with some less-desirable residents, a pesky dust mite population. The city’s climate lends itself perfectly to the proliferation of these nasty little creatures - tiny eight-legged arachnids that mainly feed on the dead human skin cells that make up dust (yuck!). The dust mite allergen is the most common contributor to allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic eczema. These insects thrive in well-populated environments where humidity is high and temperatures average above 24°C - conditions that describe Hong Kong uncannily well! In the workplace, dust mites can be found in carpets, curtains, clothing and anything else that can trap dust, wreaking havoc on workers’ respiratory systems if left untreated. And as we all unfortunately spend the majority of our lives in the office, a decent air purification system will really boost the wellness of your workforce. As a supplier of quality filtration and cleaning systems that improve indoor air quality, Healthpoint in Kwun Tong offers a remedy to this problem. While these microscopic creatures might not seem like a health threat now, investing in a quality air purification system (one that employs a HEPA filter and UV and negative ion technologies is best) could see a massive difference in the general wellbeing of your workforce. For a real deep clean of your office, call on the Johnson Group, who have been proving safe and green sanitizing and VOC removal services in Hong Kong since 1947. This tooled-up team will blast dust mites, allergens, mould, fungus and bacteria from your office by deep cleaning air conditioners and all soft furnishing. All treatments are toxin free and guaranteed for 12 months.

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  4) Work as a Team Towards Happiness and Productivity Most employers will agree that teamwork is essential in an office environment. Working as a collective helps a company make best of its resources, find novel ideas in brainstorming sessions and utilise employees as educational resources for other workers in the team. In a hectic work environment however, it can be difficult to build the bonds of mutual trust between employees, making some team building downtime essential for success. Team Building Asia, based on Wyndham Street in Central, is the place to go if you feel like your company could benefit from some bonding activities. The sheer imagination and originality with which the classes are designed are real selling points, as workers will invariably be on their feet and moving around, providing a welcome break from the tedium of sedentary office life. One popular activity, for example, is ‘Rat Trap’, which involves building a series of huge independently-working but connected contraptions. Whatever challenge the team sets you however, be it designing your own unique perfume or creating a huge group piece of artwork to hang on the office wall, employees will be encouraged to think laterally, innovatively and as one.

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  5) Establish and Maintain a Work-Life Balance Disorganisation and a seemingly-endless workload can lead to a vicious cycle whereby stress begets poor productivity levels, which in turn begets more stress. Angst and disorganisation in the workplace can be costly, as they inevitably lead to increased absenteeism, cardiovascular problems and on-the-job accidents. Relaxation, communication and overall corporate wellness workshops can therefore prove well worth the initial investment of time and money. Tsim Sha Tsui-based Inspire2Aspire is a company wholly dedicated to making work environments happier and stress-free. They achieve this through a wide variety of workshops, ranging from de-stress laughter yoga classes, designed to relax both the mind and the body, to motivation and communication crash courses. Inspire2Aspire employs a holistic approach to the wellbeing of employees in Hong Kong, believing that positive-focus relaxation programmes will have the knock-on effect of improving productivity, lowering healthcare costs and enhancing a company’s corporate image.

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For more interesting articles on health and Hong Kong, visit the Kwiksure blog

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