Our Active Office – 4 workplace habits from Fitterfirst

Long gone are the days of stale workplaces that don’t support human life…or so we would hope. At Fitterfirst we strive to create an ergonomically sensible workplace, and  encourage all workplaces to follow suit. President and CEO Louis Stack says  “Most of us spend one-third of our days slouching in front of a computer screen with little or no movement, That’s terribly unhealthy, and it carries over to the rest of our lives to the point where we can’t play as well nor sleep as well as we should “. It makes sense that our staff have learned the importance of activity too, especially when it comes to a typically sedentary environment like the office. Its important to care for our physical well being in the workplace, so our 8 hours doesn’t take a toll on our bodies.  I’ve noticed there are 4 major things our staff do consistently that maintains our vibrant workplace.

1. Active Sitting – Yes sitting is a must in the majority of workplaces, so lets make the inevitable livable. If we sit actively (i.e.. using a ball-chair, sit disc, or balance-chair of any kind)  this provides an ergonomic sitting position which is your natural ideal posture. It will help with core stability, circulation, productivity and Louis says “puts a little bounce in your worklife”

Our Sales staff sit on Swoppers: and ideal active-sitting tool. They support a whole range of natural, fluid and intuitive motion including tilting, swaying and bouncing.

Staff Desks

Our Administration staff sit on Evolution Chairs accompanied with balance boards, spiky balls or foot rollers-  which keep your feet activated  and help keep you alert.

The Fitterfirst Boardroom!

Meeting time can often take a lot of time. That’s why there are no chairs in sight in our boardroom, just a bunch of balance balls, so we can “stay on the ball”.

2. Keep moving – Many of the desks around the office are height-adjustable desks that can be raised and lowered to accommodate sitting or standing. When Louis desk is in standing position he uses a small cobblestone mat on top of a Fitterfirst Balance Pad. This “Louis Special”  is a  dynamic combo of products that adds balance training and circulation, all while answering emails!

"Louis Special" a cobblestone mat on top of a Fitterfirst Balance Pad

Our Cash register always has some kind of balance product under it, so our sales staff have comfortable for cushioning, while they ring up orders.  Fitterfirst  employees have become so accustomed to an active office that if anyone finds themselves standing in one spot for more than a couple minutes, the balance boards  are bound to come out.

3. Compensate for the Inevitable. Typing on a keyboard and using a mouse is an inevitable part of most jobs, but the rising plight of repetitive task injuries is avoidable. Keeping your fingers, hands and ligaments strong and flexible is easy. Many of our staff use products like the power web which is a great tool for doing flexion and compression exercises. And don’t let the name fool you, Power web junior just means its smaller in size, which means it can easily be tucked away in a drawer( but don’t tuck it away and forget about it).

Keep hand exercisers in arms reach and you will end up using them

The Grip Pro is another great strengthening tool as well as tension reliever. We have “digit fidgets” like these  lying around all over our office and it just becomes second nature to engage with them.

4. Take Extra Measures. We have a pretty healthy team here at Fitterfirst, but its not magic, and its not just because we all sit on ball chairs. We take other measures too. We drink lots of water, eat phenomenally healthy and delicious lunches, which helps us stay alive, and when we are feeling a little drained we can always get a quick mental refresher from hanging out with our  incredible office-dog, Roxy. She keeps us mentally balanced, and provides entertainment during staff meetings when we feed her goldfish crackers. So Yes, we practice what we preach, and we faithfully use our own products, but it’s practicing these healthy habits on an ongoing basis that maintains our  healthy work environment.

Roxy; the official Fitterfirst Office Dog

We want to hear from YOU! Do you know of an amazing active office?, or any tips for creating a healthy work environment?