GrokTalk Blog

Is working from home really working, or is it just an excuse for employees to goof off at home? After Marissa Mayer famously ended working from home at Yahoo, researchers at Stanford decided to answer that question. So what did their research reveal? Well, it turns out that working from home is good for business!

Instead of tuning into Netflix, workers who worked from home were 13% more productive and reported improved work satisfaction and sleep. The researchers hypothesized that the increase in productivity was caused by a range of factors, including less distractions and sick days. Most dramatically, employee turnover reduced 50% in the group that worked from home.

What if I told you sitting all day is killing you? Well, that’s exactly what scientists have discovered in several recent studies, including one published this month in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. It turns out, our bodies were never meant to be glued to a seat for up to 60% of the day, and that our hunting and gathering ancestors who stood up or walked for 90% of their day actually had the right idea.

How bad is sitting, really? Dr. James A. Levine, Director of the Mayo Clinic/Arizona State University Solutions Initiative and the inventor of the treadmill desk, who has published more than 100 scientific papers, has this to say in hisarticle for MindBodyGreen: “Your chair is killing you. Many American workers sit more than 15 hours each day. Think about it for a second. You get up in the morning, drive to work, sit all day long at work, drive home, eat dinner, watch TV and surf the Internet before bed. This degree of excess sitting is not what our bodies were designed to do.”

Wellness sounds like a wonderful thing, and while you might be already tuned in to a lifestyle of wellness, it’s still an elusive concept for many of us. There are lots of ways to create a healthier, happier life, but here are 3 paths that may help you find your way.

Focus on Being your Best You

It must be human nature to compare ourselves to one another, but when it comes to wellness, the best place to focus is on yourself. What choices did you make today that were good ones? Did you take time for at least 20 minutes of exercise today? Did you eat the apple with lunch instead of potato chips? Remember, self care isn’t selfish, so go ahead and focus on being a better you. And there isn’t just one definition of beauty. You are powerful, and you are responsible for you.