THE IN-HOUSE MAGAZINE FOR CHURCH RESOURCES
Volume 1, Issue 10 September 2013
CRUNCH Theme for
Step to it, teams. It’s Steptember!
September? Innovation ‘Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.’ - William Pollard
Steptember is a terrific initiative, in terms of how we can help Cerebral Palsy Alliance and the amazing people who we support by participating. For those signed up it is about being more active, moving our bodies and getting fit for summer. On average, we take 2,500 steps each da… so our challenge in being a part of
Steptember is to take 10,000 steps each day,. By doing that your team progressive climbs every major mountain peak across the globe, beginning with Cartensz Pyramid. This peak is 4,884m above sea level and will require your team take 126,283 steps, with 10,000 steps per person, you can
climbt hat peak in 3 days! Steptember beings on Wednesday 4th September, please get your teams registered so you can help raise awareness about our Member the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, generate some sponsorship to raise funds, and get fit.
Inside this issue:
Our new starters
2/3
Holiday snaps
4/7
A new work model?
8/ 10
Pictorial
11/ 14
Enjoy! Luke
Courage!
16/ 17
Healthy at work
18/ 20
Improve your work station
21
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Inside Story Headline
Shazza joins the Member Services team What is your job at Church Resources? Sales Administrator
Hobbies or Passions? Sailing and Kayaking
What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten? Raw Emu
Previous job? Job Services Australia for 8 years (helping people come off Centrelink, whether they wanted to or not !) Before that was Telstra Small Business Portfolio Manager and I have also worked in a Vodafone Call Centre.
Reading? Asylum by Amy Cross on Kindle
What’s one of the scariest or strangest things you’ve ever done? Travelled around Europe by myself and then lived in London.
Married to? Bernie Atkins Children? We have a Furry Baby called Sheba (Shih Tzu) Born and bred? Born in Cairns, Queensland. Spent my Primary school years living in Wilcannia near Broken Hill NSW
Last film? Wolverine in 3D and Elysium On your iPod? My iPod is getting dusty as I use my phone now, I am listening to an Audio book – Dune by Frank Herbert Where would you like to travel and why? Sail around the Greek Islands, it looks beautiful What is the best compliment you have ever got? My Mother-inLaw thinks I am great for her son…Phew….
Do you have a nickname? Shaz or Shazza mostly, but my nieces and nephews call me Shazzy, What are your proudest of in your life? My Husband What is the one thing you would like to do before you die? Buy a cruising Catamaran and sail around the world (or at least Australia) aimlessly.
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Volume 1, Issue 10 And Omer starts his CR training with Anushri!
Inside Story Headline
What is your job at Church Resources? Customer Service & Sales Officer What was your previous job? Customer Service / Admin Born and bred? Yep… born in Australia Hobbies or Passions? Walks, drives, food, coffee, photography, music, bowling, etc Reading? Mainly news Last film? Last new film was Monsters University. Loved it What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten? Sheep brain What’s one of the scariest or
strangest things you’ve ever done? There’s a very tall and steep waterslide and Wet n Wild Gold Coast Fascinating fact about Omer’s
name… he shares is almost completely with one of the great heroes of Central Asia— Tamerlane, aka Emir Timur, Tarmashirin Khan, Emir Timur (Persian: تیمور Timūr, Chagatai: Temür "iron"; 9 April 1336 – 18 February 1405), historically known as Tamerlane (Persian: لنگتیمور Timūr(-e) Lang, "Timur the Lame"), was a Turko-Mongol ruler from the Barlas clan. He conquered West, South and Central Asia and founded the Timurid dynasty. He was the grandfather of Ulugh Beg, who ruled Central Asia from 1411 to 1449, and the great-great-greatgrandfather of Babur Beg, founder of the Mughal Empire, which ruled parts of South Asia for around four centuries, from 1526 until 1857.
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CRUNCH What I did on my holidays—Jessie from Member Services
SELFIE:S ! Jessie and her partner Adam went on a 12-day cruise to Noumea, Port Denarau, Suva and Isle of Pines (pictured) for 12 days
Highlights? Seeing a hypnotist (crazy funny), meeting heaps of interesting people from all over Australia, snorkelling in Isle of Pines, the thermal mud pools at a village near Port Denarau (drank kava!)
Carnival Spirit or what?
Recommended? Definitely! Fun and friendly atmosphere on the ship. I loved it in Fiji and I can’t wait to go back.
Dinner, Melanesian-style?
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Volume 1, Issue 10 What I did on my holidays—Melissa from Marketing
Where: Parents’ farm ‘Windermere’ which is near Sheffield, 60 kms west of Christchurch. This is a mixed cropping farm where the Morrises grow wheat barley, peas, rye corn and oats. How long:: Just a week. Going home again at Christmas. Cat? Sooty. Shots? Around Lake Coleridge.
in-
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CRUNCH What I did on my holidays—Christine of Publishing Went to heaven. Where is that, you ask. Queensland, of course. Why: Was going to the Coast, but family matters intervened and I stayed in town… and this was my view when I was down on the Bay… Moreton Bay. Paradise! Spoke at the Muslim Writers Festival at Rocklea, on the program with lawyer and novelist Randa Abdel Fattah, and Scott Stephens from the ABC Religion portal; went to lunch and dinner and watched a lot of football.
The annual Clayfield College class reunion—no one died! Annual school reunion at the Brekkie Creek Hotel. It’s famous, the Creek. And we are there every year. There were 32 of us in our Senior year (that’s Year 12 to you south of the border folk) and there were 26 of us at lunch. And the people who came for the first time wondered why they had never come before. It’s funny, sad, sweet, and amazing!
Met two of our Pilgrims over coffee—Margaret (left) and Cathy (right)
Was a guest speaker at the annual Muslim Writers Festival for Eid Fest—headscarves everywhere!
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Went to the launch of the album Ten Hands, by Topology Where: At the Powerhouse Why: I was having coffee with a friend, and she had been invited. She knew I knew the Topology musical director, Carol Lloyd so off we went! What is Topology? The classical contemporary group is famous for the breadth and depth of their collaborations. The quintet has created stunning new work
with Geoffrey Rush, Neil Armfield, the Brodsky Quartet, the Southern Cross Soloists, Terry Riley, TaikOz, the Queensland Ballet, Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan, the Kransky Sisters, Gerry Connolly, and William Barton, to name a few. What was the weather like? Perfect. I shot these flowers (right) when I went to see my solicitor in town. Spring!
Was kept under surveillance by K-9 operatives Dogs everywhere. Just as well I like them a lot. There was Pippi the nippy puppy in town, and then there was this pair—right—down at the Bay.. You can see the black Labrador cross spooking around behind in this shot. That’s Jedda. She is a sweet dog, and very loving and quite smart for a Lab, so thank the cattle dog dad for that. The maniac in the front is Bowie. He is a lovely dog too, but if he were human he would be taking Ritalin and be assigned to a class for very special kids. He loves being very close to peo-
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CRUNCH Athena in pin stripes—the new best work model? - By Chris Howells, Deputy Editor of New Knowledge
T
he business world is a place for the competitive and the self-reliant. But this is about to change according to the author of The Athena Doctrine. In 2007, hard at work in his laboratory, Ijad Madisch, a virologist in East Berlin, had a problem. Like all scientists, he occasionally hit dead ends and roadblocks in his research. On one of these days, he reached out to colleagues for help, but was promptly criticised for admitting his lack of knowledge on a certain point. Undeterred, Ijad wanted to find collaborators. But given the difficulty of navigating the scientific field as other experts closed their doors in front of him, he realised that scientists not afraid to ask for help needed a global community where ideas could be shared and ego put aside. So he started ResearchGate, which now has over 3 million members, with over 800,000 articles being shared and which has also won the backing of Bill Gates. Ijad’s story and others like it are what social strategist, leadership consultant and author John Gerzema says point to the dramatic shift taking place in the values of the 21st century. This shift, which he calls The Athena Doctrine, (also the name of his book) is the notion that traditional masculine traits, such as competitiveness, independence and self-reliance, that have so far
dominated business and politics, are rapidly being replaced by those considered feminine, such as collaboration, adaptability and nurturing. The world Gerzema envisions is one of inclusivity, accountability and community. “What you’re going to see is the aperture of what a public company is open up widely. I think the public company today is about shareholder value. The public company of tomorrow is about employee value, it’s about community value,” he said in an interview with INSEAD Knowledge on the school’s Asia campus in Singapore.
the United States. From their travels across America, they started to discover that many of the traits being exhibited by entrepreneurs and leaders postcrisis were those widely regarded as feminine. “There has been a swirling of different forces. There’s been the global financial crisis, there’s been a huge degree of cynicism that’s been levied on large institutions and corporations. In our data 86% of people felt that institutions have accumulated too much power,” said Gerzema. Respondents cited frustration with the codes of control, competition, aggression and the black and white thinking that has led to risk taking and scandal across business and politics in the dissatisfaction with men.
Unsatisfactory
But The Athena Doctrine is not a “men versus women” concept, he says. Despite the fact that 66 percent of respondents in their study said that the world would be a better place if men thought more like women, masculine ideals such as decisiveness and resilience were highly ranked as key leadership qualities, alongside feminine ones such as collaboration, patience and flexibility.
Gerzema bases his predictions and his book on a global study of 64,000 people in 13 countries that went into The Athena Doctrine. Gerzema and co-author Michael D’Antonio found that the majority of adults (both male and female) across the world are dissatisfied with the conduct of men in their respective countries. This study came about after Gerzema and D’Antonio earlier studied the impact of the global financial crisis on values in
“81% of people said that men or women need both masculine and feminine traits to thrive in today’s world and that’s really a reflection of where we’re at. There was a lot of frustration at masculine structures and the interesting thing about that was a high degree of men in a lot of different countries were also dissatisfied with the conduct of men and what it was really about was these underlying challenges in politics and these traditional
Masculine Conduct
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ATHENA GODDESS OF WISDOM
ways that business has been done and people are looking for something different,” Gerzema added.
Social impact Throughout Gerzema’s travels, he came across many people facing challenges in their societies within the realms of masculine structures, but who sought new ways to handle them. Another example he cites is that of Emily Bolton in London, a Director of Social Finance, an organisation that aims to alleviate societal problems with money through issuing social impact
bonds. In an experimental funding scheme in Petersborough, Social Finance seeks to achieve measurably better re-offending rates for prison inmates than existing agencies. The money is put to work on mentoring, housing support and mental health interventions. Investors stand to make a 13 percent profit if recidivism doesn’t breach 7.5 percent. Gerzema says such examples demonstrate the feminine values of empathy, flexibility and collaboration.
Future values This demonstrates the new ap-
proaches being taken to business. Mixed with more meaning and more social impact, “millennials” - those born around the 1980s and now entering the workforce - have a new way of operating that is challenging the status quo. “A lot of the traction of this idea was in millennial-based businesses, whether they were start-ups or NGOs, perhaps because they were starting from a blank slate, but they were using these skills to create really viable new businesses.” “Young men and women want meaningful work, they want to
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CRUNCH “inclusivity, about gathering different points of view, more diverse mindsets, whether its men or women and getting younger people into the decision making process.”
ATHENA GODDESS OF
Gerzema acknowledges, however, that the representation of women in boardroom ranks is still lacking. With female board representation on average at around 10 percent in Asia and 16 -18 percent in Europe, but women representing as much as 80 percent of purchasing power, the inclusion of female thinking in the boardroom is more essential than ever. “If you step back and you think of the company of the future that’s going to follow the marketplace, you’ve got this incredibly important desire for companies to realise that they’ve got to bring these feminine values into fold if they’re going to survive in the future.”
WAR!
http://knowledge.insead.edu/ leadership-management/athena-in -pin-stripes-2568
Who Was Athena? build that into the companies that they work with and for…So you have this world that has become more social, more transparent, and more interdependent, and yet the skills we’ve been using to conduct traditional business has been a little bit antiquated and hasn’t really caught up to this reality,” he added.
consumption is really an emerging trend and customers really do look carefully at the quality and ethics of a company so really the overall theme is about engagement. The CEO of today has to engage their customers, employees and communities and they’ve got to do it continuously.”
He also says that the contemporary framing of concepts like Corporate Social Responsibility as compartmentalised initiatives is insufficient to today’s responsible company. “What we’re seeing in our data is that mindful
The businesses of the future, therefore, should be adopting The Athena Doctrine to keep pace with rapid societal changes and expectations. While leaders must remain resilient, Gerzema says leadership will be based on
In Greek religion and mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. Minerva is the Roman goddess identified with Athena. Athena is also a shrewd companion of heroes and is the goddess of heroic endeavour. She is the virgin patroness of Athens. The Athenians founded the Parthenon on the Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens (Athena Parthenos), in her honour.
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Volume 1, Issue 10 Some truly inspiring pieces of Western Christian art
Christian art is sacred art produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of Christianity, though other definitions are possible. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, although some have had strong objections to some forms of religious image, and there have been major periods of iconoclasm within Christianity. Images of Jesus and narrative scenes from the Life of Christ are the most common subjects, and scenes from the Old Testament play a part in the art of most denominations. Images of the Virgin Mary and saints are much rarer in Protestant art than that of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Of the three related religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, Christianity makes far wider use of images, which are forbidden or discouraged by Islam and Judaism. However there is also a considerable history of aniconism in Christianity from various periods. Above: The ceiling of St Agnese in Agone, Piazza Navona, Rome. Right: Michelangelo's Pieta (1498) in St Peter’s Basilica, Rome.
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Vaulted ceiling, Gloucester Cathedral (foundations 1070-1104)
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Volume 1, Issue 10 Book of Kells mss , Dublin
Brunelleschi's Crucified Christ (12901300) is in the Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence.
The Adoration of the Shepherds by Giorgione (Washington National Gallery )
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Above: Left, Da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks (1483). Right, Raphael tried the same subject in 1507. Right: The late 19th century architectural masterpiece— Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona. It is still not complete, even though it was begun in 1882. Below: Mosaic detail from the tomb of Galla Placida in Ravenna, Italy. This mausoleum (450 AD) is a tiny, perfect creation which overwhelms any visitor lucky
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Volume 1, Issue 10 Surprise! The 11 greatest business movies you will ever see‌. - by Eduardo Migliano Compared to cop movies or love stories, movies about business are few and far between. Business settings may lack romance and car chases, but some of the best movies of all time have been about business. Here are the best of the best. 1. The Godfather (1972) 9.2/10
sionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed. Director: Frank Capra. Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell 5. Casablanca (1942) 8.7/10 Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II:
The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son. Director: Francis Ford Coppola Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton
las Adams, Sam Albert, Paul G. Allen 8. Citizen Kane (1941) 8.5/10 Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance. (119 mins.) Director: Orson Welles. Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead 9. Modern Times (1936) 8.6/10 The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman. Director: Charlie Chaplin Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman,
2. The Godfather: Part II (1974) 9.0/10 The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York is portrayed while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on his crime syndicate stretching from Lake Tahoe, Nevada to pre-revolution 1958 Cuba. 3. 12 Angry Men (1957) 8.9/10 A dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manages to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court. (96 mins.) Director: Sidney Lumet Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler
An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications. (Director: Michael Curtiz. Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains 6. Forrest Gump (1994) 8.7/10 Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny Curran, eludes him. (142 mins.) Director: Robert Zemeckis Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field
4. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
7. The Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires (1996 Documentary) 7.7/10
8.7/10 An angel helps a compas-
Stars: Robert X. Cringely, Doug-
Tiny Sandford 10. The King's Speech (2010) 8.1/10 The story of King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it. Director: Tom Hooper Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi 11.The Corporation (2003 Documentary) 8.0/10 Documentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance. (145 mins.) Director: Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott Stars: Mikela Jay, Rob Beckwermert, Christopher Gora.
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Fear hopes monsters go away….
The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. - Max De Pree
The movie, Apollo 13, made the phrase, ‘Houston, we have a problem,’ famous. ‘Houston, we have a “challenge”,’ doesn’t cut it. Courage doesn’t play games with language. But how do you become courageous at work ? On his blog, Dan at Leadership Freak (http:// leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2013/08/09 /how-to-fulfill-leaderships-firstresponsibility/ , tries to deconstruct the conundrum. Here is what he came up with:
Courageous leaders point out problems.
Defining reality is boldly describing what you see. It’s easier to sprinkle fairy dust on reality than you think. You don’t want to point out problems, for example, because they reflect poorly on your leadership. So, you pretend they’re challenges and opportunities. Maybe, if you close your eyes long enough, they’ll go away.
Courageous leaders don’t pretend. Bill Hybels indicated, at the Global Leadership Summit 2013, that all organizations are in one of three states, downturn, stagnation, or upturn. Everyone in your organization is waiting for you to acknowledge what they
already know, but you won’t define.
Dealing with it begins by defining it. Hybels went on to say that downturns, stagnation, and upturns require unique leadership competencies and behaviors.
Downturn: Face it head on. Yell, “Fire!” Call people to pull together, now. Leaders yell, “Fire!,” with realistic optimism. They believe we can make things better, today.
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while courage grabs them by the throat Stagnation:
with empty heads and spineless politicians.
Face it head on, once you see it. Stagnation sets in like sleep arrives, slowly and imperceptibly.
Lean into crazy not away, when building teams.
Set a fire! Create a crisis.
Upturn: Face it head on. Sustaining an upturn is hard; losing momentum easy.
The people closest to me drive me crazy. They move faster or slower, take more risks or fewer, take more time to think or less, than I do. Their caution, or lack of caution, for example, drives me nuts. Why can’t they be like me?
A team of crazies must:
Try new things, release young leaders to take risks.
* Fight nice. Belligerence, arrogance, and rudeness are not allowed on effective teams. Nasty is easy.
Do the thing you fear:
Good crazy is nice.
Downturn-fear says, “Don’t make a big deal.” Make it!
Bad crazy is plugging your ears and screaming la la la la to block out others.
Pour fuel on the fire.
Stagnation-fear says, “It’s not that bad.” It is! Upturn-fear says, “We better pull back.” Push forward!
GET CRAZY Here are some more lessons in leading form Dan at Leadership Freak… He says—run to crazy people. Avoid comfortable people. Teammates, who think like you, are irrelevant. They take up space and suck oxygen. Reserve chairs and air for crazies. Invite in those who see differently. Punish silent agreement and reward dissent. Strong leaders seek options, alternatives, and diversity. Weak leaders build weak teams filled
* Get over it. Clinging to offenses grantees mediocrity. * Respect each others’ gifts. Respect them now; like them later. * Develop maturity. Immaturity demands agreement. * Share values. Crazies may look at
things differently but core – agreed upon behaviors – protect and nurture craziness. The most important conversation new teams have is how will we be together.
Great crazies: Learn. Crazies who won’t learn are truly crazy. Adapt. Someone who won’t adapt is a jerk, not strong. Share vision. Nothings worse than a team of crazies pulling in different directions. Work hard. Produce results. Enjoy craziness. Grab an oar and row once decisions are made – whether they got their way or not.
Goal: The point of diversity – craziness – is rich decision-making not balance. The “B” word tastes like vomit in the back of my throat. A team of passionate crazies produces extraordinary not average or balance.
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CRUNCH It’s your life and it’s your job to stay healthy at work - by ABC Health and Wellbeing Earning a living doesn't need to cost you your health. There are plenty of things you can do to make sure you stay healthy and happy at work. For most of us our time at work takes up much of our waking life.
TOP TIPS * Don't ignore stress * Don't sit all day
While there's no denying that work can cause stress, aches and pains, it doesn't have to be a negative experience. There are plenty of changes you can make that can help make your work life happier, healthier and more productive.
* When you sit, sit properly
Don't ignore stress
* Avoid overworked muscles
There's no denying that work can be stressful, but sometimes it's the way we think, rather than situations themselves that leave us feeling overwhelmed.
* Look after your eyes
A job that seems too difficult or demanding might be more manageable if you let go of certain beliefs, such as the notion that you should never make mistakes, or that everyone in your workplace needs to approve of you all time. There are also some great online resources that can help you learn about stress – and the role your thinking style can play in exacerbating it. Also, if you feel overwhelmed at work, you might talk to your supervisor or look at your work style. As well, it can help to: Create boundaries between work and personal time. Try not to take work home with
you, check your emails outside work hours, or think about work after you knock off. Stay connected with family and friends when you're not working. Try to say no to extra work. Schedule regular breaks at work – no matter how busy you are.
Get regular exercise Spend time every day doing things just for you: i.e. regularly do a hobby or activity you enjoy, or catch up with friends. Manage irrational or negative thoughts such as "I have to be responsible for everything": i.e. write down counterproductive thoughts and challenge them with positive or more realistic ones. Alternatively, seek advice on cognitive behaviour therapy or rational thinking skills training. Research and employ stressrelief strategies, such as relaxation and meditation.
Avoid relying on drinking or using drugs to help you cope. Many workplaces also offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), which are run by external providers and can offer free help with problems including helping you learn to manage stress.
Don't sit all day When it comes to our work, many of us spend our days sitting on our bottoms. This doesn't mean we're lazy, but it could mean you're shortening your lifespan. A growing body of research shows that sitting for hours of your day might shorten your life, even if you're getting the recommended amounts of daily exercise. That's because muscles need to contract for some important processes in the body to occur and long periods being still mean this doesn't happen enough. This affects our body's processing of fats and sugars in ways that increase our risk of
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Volume 1, Issue 10 for the sake of everyone who loves you! heart disease and diabetes. But if you break up your sitting time throughout the day, regardless of the total time you spend in your chair, you might go some way to help counteract the problem. Why not try to:
stand every time you make a phone call (or use a mobile, cordless handset or headset so you can move around even more).
move your rubbish bin/ printer/filing cabinet further away from your desk so you need to get off your chair to get to them.
take the stairs instead of the lifts between floors.
walk to a colleague's office or desk to talk to them instead of sending an email.
get up to move around for few minutes or so every hour.
When you sit, sit properly If your job sees you stuck in a chair, make sure your seating arrangement is ergonomic. When using a computer:
keep your feet flat on the floor (or use a footstool if needs be)
use an ergonomicallydesigned chair to support your lower back
position your keyboard so your forearms are
parallel to the floor and allow your elbows to rest comfortably by your side.
have your computer monitor at eye level, use your whole arm, not just your wrist, when using a mouse.
Avoid overworked muscles Whether your job sees you tied to a computer, chopping food or digging ditches, repetitive movements or sustained postures can cause muscle imbalances. One muscle is overworked and becomes tight, while the opposing muscle is unused and remains slack. This not only leads to aches and pains, it can also lead to joints being improperly supported, increasing your risk of injury.
Over time, the overworked muscle becomes even tighter and more fatigued, while the opposing muscle weakens and no longer supports the joint effectively, increasing your risk of injury. ‘With someone seated all day, their hips are constantly in a shortened position so it means the muscles in and around the hip joint and lower back become tight, and the buttock and stomach muscles become weak,’says Ashley Gardner, exercise physiologist and director of Pace Exercise Physiology in Victoria. Repetitive manual labour, such as digging, chopping vegetables, carting bricks or even just sitting for long periods, can also cause muscle imbalances. Chronic postural problems set in when the sustained, poor pos-
Cont over….
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CRUNCH Want to be healthy at work but don't know how? ture becomes the new 'norm' and you no longer realise you're carrying yourself incorrectly. The best solution to these problems is to break the cycle of repetition. Alternate your activities – If you are working on a computer, for example, break it up with phone calls. If you are digging, stop for one minute and simply bend backwards. Stretch – Whatever sustained position you are in, think of a logical opposite movement. You don't need complex stretching routines; if you are doing the stretch right, it will feel good.
short-sightedness, especially when you are young. Any task that minimises the "work" your eyes have to do to focus on your screen could be helpful. This may include: Enlarging the display on your computer screen through the software you are using. Getting glasses that magnify things slightly when you are doing extended close-up work.
Look after your eyes
In the shorter term, prolonged viewing of a computer screen can make any existing vision defects more noticeable. It can also give you what is sometimes known as "computer vision syndrome" – eye strain, headaches, gritty eyes and blurry vision. But this is only temporary and can be minimised by:adjusting the screen display so the contrast is high and the brightness feels comfortable. having lighting that does not produce glare on the screen.
Looking at a computer screen, reading, or doing other close-up work can increase your risk of
giving your eyes regular rests from looking at the screen (The Optometrists Association of
Take regular breaks – Every 15 to 20 minutes break for two to three minutes and aim for a few 20 minute breaks throughout the day.
Australia recommends you do this for five to ten minutes every one to two hours of computer use. It's a good time to make phone calls or do other tasks.) Efron says looking into the distance, or even just closing your eyes also gives your eyes a break. "This is total relaxation for your eyes." This can also help prevent dry eyes. Concentrating on a visual task for any length of time makes us blink less, reducing the supply of moisture to our eyes. "If you look away, you'll naturally blink." Also make sure you have eye assessments every two years, if you're over 50, your checks should be annual. If you work in manual labour, construction, mining or other outdoor occupations, the most common eye injuries are foreign bodies in the eye and being hit by objects. Naturally, the best prevention is protective eyewear, such as goggles and glasses.
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Volume 1, Issue 10
How to get the best out of your work station 1 Sit up tall. Push your hips as far back as they can go in the chair. Adjust the seat height so that your feet are flat on the floor and your knees equal to, or slightly lower than, your hips. Adjust the back of the chair to a 100°-110° reclined angle. Make sure that your upper and lower back are supported. If necessary, use inflatable cushions or small pillows. When your chair has an active back mechanism use it to make frequent position changes. Adjust the armrests so that your shoulders are relaxed, and remove them completely if you find that they are in your way. 2 Sit close to your keyboard. Sit close to your keyboard. Sit close to your keyboard. Position it so that it is directly in front of your body. Make sure that the keys are centered with your body. 3 Adjust the keyboard height. Adjust the keyboard height. Adjust the keyboard height. Make sure your shoulders are relaxed, your elbows are in a slightly open position, and your wrists and hands are straight. 4 Adjust the tilt of your keyboard based on your sitting position. Adjust the tilt of your keyboard based on your sitting position. Adjust the tilt of your keyboard based on your sitting position. Use the keyboard tray mechanism, or keyboard feet, to adjust the tilt. If you sit in a forward or upright position, try tilting your keyboard away from you, but if
you are slightly reclined, then a slight forward tilt will help to maintain a straight wrist position. 5 Use wrist rests. Use wrist rests. Use wrist rests. They will help maintain neutral postures and pad hard surfaces. The wrist rest should only be used to rest the palms of the hands between keystrokes and not while typing. Place the mouse or trackball as close as possible to the keyboard. 6 Position your monitor properly. Adjust the monitor and any source or reference documents so that your neck is in a neutral, relaxed position. Center the monitor directly in front of you, above your keyboard. Position the top of the monitor approximately 2-3” above your seated eye level. If you wear bifocals, lower the monitor to a comfortable reading level. Sit at least an arm's length away from the screen and adjust the distance for your vision. Reduce any glare by carefully positioning the screen, which you should be looking almost straight at, but partially looking down. Adjust any curtains or blinds as needed. Adjust the vertical screen angle and screen controls to minimize glare from overhead lights. 7 Position the source documents directly in front of you, and use an in-line copy stand. Position the source documents directly in front of you, and use an in-line copy stand. Position the source documents directly in
front of you, and use an in-line copy stand. If there is insufficient space for that, place the documents on a document holder positioned adjacent to the monitor. Place your telephone within easy reach. Use headsets or a speaker phone to eliminate cradling the handset. 8 An articulating keyboard tray can provide optimal positioning of input devices. However, it should accommodate the mouse, enable leg clearance, and have an adjustable height and tilt mechanism. The tray should not push you too far away from other work materials, such as your telephone If you do not have a fully adjustable keyboard tray, you may need to adjust your workstation height and the height of your chair, or use a seat cushion to get in a comfortable position. If you do not have a fully adjustable keyboard tray, you may need to adjust your workstation height and the height of your chair, or use a seat cushion to get in a comfortable position. Remember to use a footrest if your feet dangle. 9 Exercise your hand by pushing on top of your fingers, and using backward resistance movements. Do a minimum of fifteen reps for each hand at least six times every day. This simple exercise can help prevent you from developing carpal tunnel finger problems in the future. Even if you don’t have any problems right now, you might prevent pain later in life by doing a few good exercises.
Top tips * Sit up * Sit close * Adjust the height & tilt * Position monitor/ documents properly
See you next month for more from CRUNCH!