The Active Workday Advantage: Unlock your most energised, engaged and happy self at work is a call to action to shift your perspective and prioritise health and vitality in the workplace by taking small breaks and adopting life-altering movement habits. Photo: Supplied.
Energised, engaged and happy are the three words that instantly grab your attention in the subtitle of this motivating guide from workplace wellness expert Lizzie Williamson.
She is combating a sedentary work culture by inspiring everyone to incorporate micro moves – small and powerful moments of movement – into our work culture. It’s time to challenge the status quo and ask ourselves why we spend our days confined to chairs, neglecting our physical and mental wellbeing. Your day does not need to be that way.
The secret to unlocking a higher level of productivity, focus and fulfilment at work is by embracing something simple, yet incredibly powerful: an active workday. By integrating more moves into your work routine, you have the power to elevate your wellbeing, increase your cognitive abilities and cause a profound shift in how you approach and engage with your work.
The Active Workday Advantage is a call to action to shift your perspective and prioritise health and vitality in the workplace by taking small breaks and adopting life-altering motion habits.
“We’re designed to move and be active, yet we confine ourselves to chairs and desks for hours on end,” Williamson points out. “Our bodies and minds suffer the consequences of this prolonged inactivity and we experience aches and pains, decreased focus and diminished capacity.
“The current norm of sitting for long hours, immobile and disconnected from our bodies, is deeply ingrained in our work culture … Why do we spend our days confined to a chair, neglecting our physical and mental wellbeing?
“It’s partly because spending hours working statically aligns with our idea of success, which is to be productive, get results and achieve the accolades that come with the grind we’ve glorified. The harder we work, the more hours we put in, the fewer breaks we take and the more we produce, achieve and deliver. But you only have to look at the rate of burnout, the rise of physical and mental health issues and other concerning trends to wonder: Is this really working?” Doesn’t look like it.
Figures reveal 95 per cent of HR leaders report burnout is sabotaging the workforce; 69 per cent of leaders are seriously considering quitting for a job that better supports their wellbeing; and nine out of 10 Australians are not resilient. That’s a level needed to be confident, happy, calm, successful in achieving your goals and avoiding the effects of stress, depression, anxiety and mental health issues.
Dubbed ‘’the excuse-buster from Down Under’’, Williamson is passionate about trying to make it easier for people to move. The founder and author of Two-Minute Moves asks: Are you fit, feeling healthy, strong, full of energy and vitality? Mentally, are you motivated and fully engaged in your work? If the answer is no (or not really), then you’re not alone.
According to Williamson: “Moments of movement are all that’s needed to recalibrate, evaluate and adjust our approach to challenges.
“Movement is powerful for what it does to our bodies, brains and our spirit. We can use it to convert the way we think, the way we feel, and it can transform the way we work and the way we lead.”
Williamson is a TEDx speaker, fitness presenter and certified personal trainer. She has been successful in getting thousands of conference attendees around the world – including the Dalai Lama, former US president Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Arianna Huffington and motivational speaker Tony Robbins – to stretch, move and dance at events.
With easy-to-follow, research-based suggestions for low-effort ways to move more and feel better, Williamson empowers you to change your perspective on exercise, prioritise active habits and take control of your physical and mental wellbeing at work.
As well, this guide will educate you to incorporate micro moves into your daily routine – small and often barely noticeable patterns of action and interaction – that engage people looking for change in a meaningful and respectful way.
The Active Workday Advantage: Unlock your most energised, engaged and happy self at work, by Lizzie Williamson, Major Street Publishing, $32.99
