World Heart Day 2024 is Sunday, September 29. Created by the World Heart Federation in collaboration with the World Health Organization, World Heart Day raises awareness about cardiovascular disease (the world’s leading cause of death) with a focus on inspiring people to take action to reduce their risk factors and improve their heart health.
One action you can take is to create a heart-healthy office environment. Long hours spent sitting behind a computer, fast food lunches, and workplace stress can all contribute to heart-related problems. These are not only detrimental to individual workers but can lead to an overall unhealthy workplace with lower morale and productivity.
Whether you are leading the company from the C-suite or you are the newest junior employee, everyone can promote a heart-healthy culture in their workplace. Here are some tips to get you started, just in time for World Heart Day.
Work Physical Activity into the Workday
Physical activity is one of the best ways to keep your heart healthy. The American Heart Association recommends “at least 150 minutes (two and a half hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week.”
When you are working in an office for eight-plus hours a day, it can be hard to squeeze in these “active” minutes. Prolonged sitting can have serious implications for your heart, including doubling your risk for developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity, according to the World Health Organization.
Here are some ways to incorporate more movement and physical activity into your workday:
Standing Desks and Sit-Stand Workstations
These adjustable workstations can help you alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day, allowing you to change physical positions to better distribute weight and pressure throughout your body, increase blood flow, and reduce the strain on your heart.
Active Meetings
Suggest walking meetings with colleagues (when appropriate), which helps everyone to stretch their legs, get in some physical activity, and even better focus the mind by changing up your environment and getting your body moving.
On-site Exercise Facilities
If your company has an on-site gym or fitness room, start using it. If not, suggest one. As a company, even providing a space for classes with a part-time instructor (think aerobics, Zumba, or yoga) can promote employee health without investing in a large gym space or equipment. Offering these fitness classes at lunchtime or right after work can make exercising more accessible for employees, without the added expense or commute to an outside gym.
Walking and Fitness Challenges
Taking a break to walk a lap around the office is a great way to get moving. Encourage co-workers to walk with you and make it an office step-count competition. For those taking advantage of the office gym, organize a fitness challenge, which could incentivize even more employees to use it. Not only do these initiatives promote health, but they also foster employee socialization.
Encourage Heart-Healthy Eating Habits
A sedentary lifestyle combined with a poor diet can be a “double whammy” for developing heart disease. Just like the office can trap you into sitting all day, it can also derail your diet if there are unhealthy food options lurking everywhere from the vending machine to the break room.
You can advocate for more heart-healthy food options in the workplace through:
Nutritious Snacks
Stock the office with heart-friendly snacks like fresh fruits, nuts, whole grains, and yogurt instead of pre-packaged, processed snack foods that can be high in saturated fats, trans fats, and added sugars.
Healthier Cafeteria Options
If your office has a cafeteria, ask for healthy menu choices, like salads, lean proteins, whole grains, and plenty of vegetables. Offering more plant-based meal options over those with fatty meats (like hamburgers or highly processed deli meats) is a great way to promote cardiovascular health.
Hydration Stations
Dehydration can affect heart function. Providing hydration stations throughout the office makes grabbing a drink of water easier, encouraging better hydration habits. So, keep a water bottle at your desk and fill it up at the hydration station throughout the day. Also, having fruit-infused or flavored waters and herbal teas at these hydration stations can be a healthier alternative to sugary soft drinks.
Lunch-and-Learn Sessions
Offer lunchtime webinars or workshops led by nutritionists or dietitians focused on heart disease prevention and heart-healthy eating habits, with a heart-healthy lunch provided. This can provide an edible example of healthy food choices and educate employees on the long-term benefits of dietary changes.
Reduce Workplace Stress
Stress is a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases, with those suffering from chronic stress more likely to develop diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and suffer a heart attack or stroke. And the workplace is a major contributor to stress. In the American Psychological Association’s 2023 Work in America Survey, 77% of workers reported experiencing work-related stress, with over half saying they had experienced negative stress-related effects, including emotional exhaustion, lack of motivation, lower productivity, and a desire to quit their jobs.
Here are some stress management strategies to adopt as a company and stress-reduction steps you can take as a worker:
Rethink the Workspace
An open office with rows of desks can be noisy and make workers feel like they are just a number. Rework the office layout with cozier areas that feel more like a living room to foster collaboration. More intimate, casual meeting rooms can make difficult workplace discussions easier. Designate areas specifically for relaxation, quiet breaks, or meditation where employees can recharge, decompress, and reduce stress levels.
Mindfulness and Meditation Programs
If you have a relaxation or meditation space in the office, offer mindfulness sessions or meditation classes. Even without this dedicated space, you can still hold employee education sessions or lunch-and-learns on mindfulness practices proven to reduce heart rate, lower blood pressure, and promote mental well-being. You can even do deep-breathing exercises right at your desk to help manage stress.
Promote Work-Life Balance
As an employer, you can promote a healthy work-life balance to your employees by banning after-working-hours communications, encouraging regular time off, and offering flexible work options, like working from home or staggered start times. As an employee, the flexibility to manage your work schedule and own your time can reduce work-related anxiety and prevent burnout. You earned that PTO, so take it!
Make Workplace Connections
Having a good relationship with your co-workers can lower workplace anxiety and stress levels. Companies can encourage positive social interactions between employees at all levels through team-building activities, group lunches, and company-wide events. Investing in these workplace connections helps to build trust with one another, creates a sense of belonging, and enhances your overall emotional well-being at work.
Living World Heart Day Every Day
When you work in a heart-healthy office, you can live out World Heart Day every day! At ForHearts Worldwide, we know exactly how this feels as we live out our mission to provide implantable cardiovascular devices for people in need in developing countries around the world.
This September 29, celebrate World Heart Day at work by connecting your company with ForHearts Worldwide. You can help us help hearts in need when you:
- Bring your corporate team together as ForHearts volunteers.
- Raise awareness as a ForHearts Ambassador.
- Underwrite fundraising events through corporate sponsorship.
- Raise funds through corporate matching.
Join the ForHearts Worldwide mission in honor of World Heart Day!