Leigh Stringer - The Healthy Workplace: How to Improve the Well-Being of Your Employees—-and Boost Your Companys Bottom Line

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The
Healthy
Workplace

Leigh Stringer, LEED AP

How to Improve the Well-Being of
Your Employeesand Boost Your
Companys Bottom Line

To Kate and Ali

I realize it has become too easy to find a diet to fit in with whatever you happen to feel like eating and that diets are not there to be picked and mixed but picked and stuck to, which is exactly what I shall begin to do once Ive eaten this chocolate croissant.

Helen Fielding, Bridget Joness Diary

DOES THIS CHAIR MAKE MY butt look fat? After laughing, my husband, John, got a worried look and stopped in his tracks. Uh, are you serious? he asked. I realized, of course, that no man in his right mind would dare answer this question, but I really wanted to know. Im not saying you need to answer me, but honestly, I spend all day at work sitting at my desk and staring at a computer. I feel like Ive been working this way for ages and that its finally catching up with me. Do you think being chained to a chair has something to do with my midsection spread? John agreedvery carefullythat yes, he felt that his job, similarly involving staring at a computer for many hours, was not exactly benefiting his health, and slow weight gain and stress were bothering him, too. Up until recently, we had both regularly complained that we did not get enough time to work out and we continually felt frustrated and guilty about it. At least in my case, I was surprisedalmost shockedby how my health was deteriorating. I mean, I thought I was doing everything right. But the truth was that I had been neglecting my body and avoiding the stress toll of work for years, and it was finally time to do something about it.

To give a little history, I have spent the last 25 years of my life being a very hard worker. From the time I graduated from high school to today, I have been employed by eight different companies in six different cities and two countries. When the company I worked for needed me to move, I moved. When I needed to cancel my vacation because of a big project, I canceled it. When my boss or my team needed me to work overtime, I did it. Then I had two beautiful girls. But I kept going because I really love working and the pride I feel having accomplished something at the end of the day. I want my girls to know that women can do anything they set their minds to and that being a mother and having a career is totally possible. I wrote my first book, The Green Workplace, with my first daughtertwo years old at the timeswinging from my legs. I moved to New York City when my second daughter was still a newborn to build up my firms consulting practice there. I was awarded the top 40 under 40 award for professionals in the building industry, was one of the youngest people appointed to my companys board of directors at the time, and became a senior vice president at what most would consider an early age. I have had some of the best clients on the planet and am considered one of the worlds leading workplace design experts. I attribute this success to an amazingly supportive family, brilliant and inspiring colleagues, great mentors, but also to really, really hard work.

I guess you could say things were going pretty well for me career-wise. Then, almost out of nowhere, I just hit a wall. After several months of supporting an important client on a major project, I became physically and mentally drained and had no energy for work, family, or friends. The months and months of overtime and the years of bad health habits had caught up with me. My mood was terrible: I was snappy, lethargic, and tuned out. I was drinking large amounts of coffee during the day and then compensating with a glass or two of wine at night to settle down. I was eating cupcakes, chocolate, and snacks around the office and at home and ordering takeout pretty regularly. I was not really exercising, and when I did, it would really mess up my day and get in the way of other more important tasks, like work or taking care of my kids. At one point in my life, I actually ran a marathon, but that was years ago. At this point, I could barely run two miles without feeling as if I would pass out. Health just was not a priority.

I was the queen of excuses when it came to weight gain. At one point, I added up all the reasons I had put on pounds. The list reads a bit like an entry in Bridget Joness Diary.

LEGITIMATE EXCUSES FOR WEIGHT GAIN

Over 40 years old, add 5 pounds. I was over 40, so that meant I was supposed to add on 5 more pounds. I mean, at 40 your metabolism slows down and there is not much you can do about that.

Giving birth to two children, add 5 pounds each. Having two children clearly gave me a free pass for going up at least a dress size. Again, body changes happen when you are pregnant and afterward, and other people gain weight because of having kids, so I have to be fair to myself.

Working in a stressful industry, add 10 pounds. I work for a design firm and architects are supposed to work really hard and throw everything into their work. Its the culture of our industry! In college, we used to brag about how many all-nighters we pulled in a row. In most of the design firms I have worked for, there has been an unspoken rule that hours put in are required for advancement.

Working in the modern age, add 5 pounds. Even if I am not at the office, I am expected to respond to emails at all hours of the day. Hey, the world is global and 24/7. Its just how work is today. So shouldnt I get a few bonus pounds because Im just being a good employee and sacrificing health for my trade?

Even as I write these excuses down, they sound ridiculous. But the truth is that I was overweight, in bad health, and in denial about it.

And the worst part was that clothes didnt hide it anymore. Now I am a fairly confident person and do not tend to obsess over appearance, but there was a point when I called in to a videoconference from my laptop and was shocked at my own image. My face was swollen and broken out, and no matter how subtly I tried to turn my head in a way that was flattering, my face just looked like a red blotchy balloonkind of like the face of Vernon Dursley, Harry Potters uncle, in the movies. There was just no good side (no offense to Richard Griffiths, the actor who played Uncle Vernon). And then there was the time on the New York City subway when a guy got up to give me his seat. Normally, I would be pleasantly surprised by this (I mean, I can count on two hands the times I have seen this kind of chivalry happen on the New York subway), only he was getting up because he thought I was pregnant. Of course, at certain points in my life this would have been a very appropriate thing, but when this happened, my youngest child was almost three years old. At first I thought this was a fluke until it happened several more times. After about the third time, I just got snappy. You can just keep your seat, thank you very much. I dont need it! Im not pregnant and Im not