Work has for many of us become a staple to survive in life, many of us (including myself) have aspirations to further ourselves within our careers and as such we tend to go the extra mile to facilitate this. This also means that we need to consistently perform to a high standard as any discrepancies in our work will not go unnoticed.
Working in an office environment for the past year has allowed me to make a number of observations about those around me. I have concluded that there are several types of people in our workforce, which I have sorted by their daily food intake or diet. I will even go so far as to claim that the choices that we make in relation to the food we eat has a direct impact on how we perform at work. Here are a few of the categories that I have created and their typical traits.
The Junkie
Every office will no doubt has a few of these, sugar and caffeine is what they seem to live off. A typical day will probably see this person devour several bags of crisps, coffee after coffee maybe an energy drink with a processed microwaveable burger for lunch. The serial snacker will seem to have an indefinite amount of highs and lows throughout each working day as their sugar levels yoyo up and down seamlessly.
As the typical junk food snacker depends on sugar as a source of energy they will usually have sporadic energy bursts throughout the day in which their work levels will skyrocket generally followed by a period of sub par performance as they wait for their next sugar fix. Those working next to a sugar addict will often find themselves working with a bouncy bubbly co-worker one minute followed the next by a half asleep lethargic Neanderthal.
The Serial Dieter
Just looking around this office I can name at least 4 types of ‘fad’ diets that one person or another is putting themselves through. Honestly I believe most of these ‘magazine diets’ to be nothing short of preposterous, there is even a diet in which a person completely removes carbohydrates from their daily intake. Whilst in logic less carbs can be a positive thing however depriving your body of them completely is not going to your body any good.
In a working environment I tend to find that those who are on diets tend to be suffering with a lack of energy/ always feeling tired. I believe this is due to that fact that almost every single diet practised today starves the body of something that it requires, cutting out meat generally leads to a shortage of iron etc. A colleague who is diet will often be de-motivated and as such performance can suffer gratuitously.
The All Rounder
Its actually quite a rare thing to see an ‘all rounder’ as managing a optimal diet is not easily managed. I find that many ‘all rounders’ will have pre-prepared all of their food for their day, this can reduce the need to pick up a snack on the fly. Well rounded meals seem to be the items of choice and often a lunchtime meal will be last nights dinner warmed up.
In a working environment an employee that eats well can expect to be more alert than his counterparts as well as making fewer mistakes. Productivity levels remain consistent and you often find that this allows them to appear as a finer employee than their counterparts.
A well rounded diet is generally one that allows the body to get adequate amounts of each food group. By doing this the body will also be supplied with the correct vitamins for the day which prevents any feelings of lethargy or agitation.
Written by Adam Howard of Atrium Legal. Adam is an authority of workers’ health and well-being. His main aim is to hopefully advice people on how to use their working environment as a positive on their health.