The Future of Healthy, Happy, High Performance Businesses - Part 3

* Read the COMPLETE Article (Parts 1, 2 & 3) Here

Tip #7 - Reconnecting Work With Mother Nature

‘Sick building syndrome’ and research on how most modern offices are disastrous for health and productivity have been around for over a decade. (Artificial lighting, lack of fresh air, toxic furnishings!) Most workplaces however have done little to improve the situation.

The next decade will likely bring big changes in this area as the latest science shows how small changes can bring significant improvements. E.g.

? Morning sunlight exposure can significantly help depression and improve sleep.

? Office plants can reduce ‘sick leave’ up to 60%, and reduce stress & negativity by 40+%.

? Natural light can improve subjective mood, attention, cognitive performance, physical activity, sleep quality, and alertness in workers.

? Earthing can reduce the electrical activity in the human body by 50+ times.7 I’ve been writing and speaking consistently over the last five to six years about the science of how small doses of early morning sunlight exposure and earthing (the simple practice of connecting to the earth or ground without shoes) are absolutely critical for human health and work performance. Morning sunlight is vital for regulating and promoting proper sleep as well as optimising mental health, happiness levels and positivity. The early clinical evidence on earthing suggests it is a powerful natural antidote for sleep problems/insomnia, pain management, general health maladies and potentially reducing inflammatory based chronic illnesses.

Look out for …

? Small outdoor areas within workplaces where people can connect to the sun and earth for short periods during the day. (Where this is not possible due to high-rise workplaces etc., then company policies will be included to help workers get outdoors more regularly. E.g. lunching in a park, having outdoor walk-and-talks with team members or clients.)

? Increase use of handheld voice recorders and accompanying voice recognition technology to enable more work to be done outdoors. E.g. recording computer based work (emails, reports write-ups etc.) while outside walking/exercising, getting sun exposure, fresh air, and even earthing.

? Natural full spectrum lighting to replace artificial office lighting. ? A greater awareness of the need for ‘earthing’ and the use of indoor earthing products (more below).

Tip #8 - Indoor Office Earthing Products …

If having team meetings barefoot in the local park is a bit of a stretch (think Beijing or Mumbai...where the air is cleaner indoors than outdoors!) don’t worry, there’s another revolution on its way – indoor earthing!

Yes, new products that allow people to be ‘earthed’ or ‘grounded’ to the same degree they would standing barefoot on Mother earth are now available. I’ve been working with an earthing mat while on my laptop and sleeping on earthing bedsheets and pillows for about two years!

These products which work on the ‘earthing’ or grounding wire in any electrical outlet have been shown to significantly reduce the EMR (Electro-magnetic radiation) from low frequency appliances common in every household and office place.

Basically, being earthed is said to create a protective shield around the body, with anecdotal evidence from people using these products saying they feel much fresher, more energised and alert at the end of the day, as well as enjoying much better sleep and clarity of mind. No research has yet been done on whether these earthing products can reduce the harmful effects of high-frequency radiation such as that from mobile phones and wi-fi, but early reports suggest promising possibilities. Formal studies should not be too far away.

Look out for …

? Individuals bringing earthing products to work. ? Indoor earthing products to be purchased by companies for all employees.

? Computer and technology suppliers to include indoor earthing products with their own products or services.

? Companies to use multi-meters to record electrical activity in the workplaces.

? New workplaces to have earthing features built-in.

TIP #9 - More Mind Body Typing and Higher Purpose

The corporate world has had various personality and psycho-physiological typing for decades – Myers Briggs, DISC, Enneagram, but really how much do we really use them in the cut and thrust of business today? With the ever-increasing speed and challenges of business in the future, this is likely to change. More than just basic personality typing however – expect to see the introduction of complete mind-bodyspirit typing dovetailing into highly tailored job roles. (Some companies will even create new jobs based on highly valued employees’ skill-sets and passions).

Also, with research showing millennials will be highlighting ‘meaning and purpose’ as a key priority for job selection (rather than simply money, status or work flexibility) companies and organisations that are quickest to marry issues like work fulfillment and greater purpose into their hiring policies and ongoing employee engagement will likely be far ahead of the game.

Look out for …

? The introduction of complete mind-body-spirit typing allowing individuals and companies to know not only what roles and positions workers will be best suited to (and having employers only selecting those likely to ‘thrive’ in particular roles) but also allowing for individually tailored diets, exercise regimes and work-life balance/work schedules.

? The use of more traditional Eastern-science personality typing, such as those from Ayurvedic medicine.

? Advances in companies helping employees to connect work with their individual ‘higher life purpose’– the vocations and job roles that give them the greatest sense of purpose and meaning and even promote a ‘spiritual’ aspect of higher service.

Tip #10 - Overcoming Biology Damaging Technology

Are the rapid changes and growing exposures to new technology affecting our biology (our bodies and brains)? Absolutely. Research and experts worldwide are uncovering how the technology we use each day is literally rewiring our brains.

? Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist from the University of California, San Francisco, summed it up in 2010 when he said, “We are exposing our brains to an environment and asking them to do things we weren’t necessarily evolved to do. We know already there are consequences.”

? We’ve known for years how bright light exposures at night from computer and phone screens adversely affect our brain chemistry and seriously impact sleep quality and duration. From an average of 8.5 hours sleep a night we now average about 7 hours.

? Excessive smartphone use can cause neck strains, RSI symptoms and potential brain risks.

? Andi Horvath’s fabulous 2015 article – ‘How does technology affect our brains?’ – highlighted how technology adversely affects our memory, attention span and focus.

? Lindsay Holmes’ Huffington Post article, ‘Sneaky Ways Technology Is Messing With Your Body And Mind’ outlined how “Wifi exposure may lower men’s sperm count, too much screen time can increase headaches or eye-strain and Googling can cause anxiety.”

? Technology has been linked to reductions in social skills, feelings of isolation and decreases in satisfaction and happiness levels (depression).

? Never before has our human organism being subjected to so many ‘unnatural’ exposures, e.g. electro-magnetic radiation, the results of which are … yet to be known!

While the latest research is showing the incredible impact of technology on our human biology, what does the future hold? How can we best cope and adapt?

Well, just as athletes train at high intensities to create positive physiological adaptations, but also need to rest and recover more powerfully in order to build-up not breakdown, we business people will have to do the same. Some of the suggestions already made here – transcending-based meditation techniques, earthing etc., – will be used to both reduce and counteract potential damage to our biology, but more will need to be done.

Look out for …

? Natural user interfaces to reduce/eliminate screen time and potentially promote social interaction, connection and wellbeing.

? Companies promoting in-house worker detox and rejuvenation programs. Think health retreats are just something for the rich or health conscious at the end of the year? Soon they will be seasonal necessities for high performance.

? Workplace massages and weekly yoga classes being replaced by company-promoted and ‘paid’ ‘digital detox programs, off-site health retreats and annual conferences where binge-drinking till 3am is replaced by turmeric teas, daily enemas and 10pm lights out! Okay, maybe the enemas … and 10pm beddy-byes are still a few years away!

? The increasing use of ‘nanobiotechnology’ (or DNA nanotechnology) to target specific health issues, e.g. diabetes. I.e. the use of targeted ‘smart’ drugs that are active only when certain DNA is present or certain genes are expressed.

SUMMARY

Wellness Not Engagement to be the New HR Metric

Just as athletes cannot maintain high-level performance without absolute optimal rejuvenation and body care, the ever-increasing impact on our biology from technology and change means that only the healthiest individuals will be able to adapt and thrive.

As a result, the overriding focus of business and our workplaces will soon change. This new landscape was recently proposed by the leadership firm LeadingWell. The pitch goes as follows;

“Most HR professionals today need no convincing on the ROI for achieving high staff engagement. Statistics linking engagement to customer loyalty, productivity, sales revenue and workforce productivity have been amassing for decades. Yet when we look to the top performing organizations in the engagement stakes globally, their concept of engagement is evolving into a new dimension. These organisations are not merely focused on engaging their people to lift performance and thereby sustainability, they are taking stewardship of the wellbeing of their people and making their workplace THE place to change people’s lives through raising the bar on wellness. Why? Because evidence is mounting that high achievement based on wellness is an extremely attractive proposition and one that is proving surprisingly infectious (no pun intended).” (Full article here)

In a Nutshell

So there you have it. The future of health and performance will be far different to anything we’ve seen before. Are you and your company or workplace ready to embrace the changes necessary to stay ahead of the game and to enjoy the best of health? I hope so and wish you and your team good health … now and for the ‘future’!

* Read the COMPLETE Article (Parts 1, 2 & 3) Here

----------------------------- Mark helps individuals and businesses dealing with high stress, low motivation, poor sleep, fatigue, and other issues to massively boost their work performance and productivity. Combining the latest Western science, his unique training in Eastern health sciences (Ayurveda) plus his research into secrets of the world's healthiest, longest-living people & highest-performing business people, he is one of Australasia's most popular Health, Happiness & High Performance Speakers and the author of the three-time best-selling ‘Ancient Wisdom for Modern Health'.

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* References: all references are contained in the original article