Here’s another reason to be jealous of your coworker who just got promoted: He’s also less likely to have heart disease, according to a new study in the Economic Journal.
People working in departments with higher promotion rates have a 20 percent reduced risk of developing heart disease, according to a new study. The reason? Researchers speculate that “favorable shocks”—or being surprised with good news—can positively affect your health.
Sure, your department might not promote as frequently as the one upstairs, but that doesn’t mean you have to start worrying about the fate of your ticker—yet. Are you spending your 9-to-5 in a healthy environment? Take a look around the office and see for yourself. (And to find out how filthy your workplace really is, read The 6 Dirtiest Places in Your Office.)
1. Do you have canine colleagues?
According to a Virginia Commonwealth University study, bringing your dog to the office not only zaps your stress, but relieves your coworkers, too. Researchers found that employee stress significantly rose on days that owners left their pups at home. “Pet presence may serve as a low-cost wellness intervention readily available to many organizations,” says Randolph T. Barker, Ph.D., a management professor at VCU. And the pooch initiative works: Mega-successful companies like Google, Amazon, and Clif Bar & Company have adopted a “dog-friendly” policy by welcoming man’s best friend into the office. (Discover more reasons Why Every Man Needs a Dog.)
2. Do you decorate your domain?
It’s a bad sign when your company’s cubicles look more like bunkers with with bare walls and bleak desks. Your mental health drops if your office doesn’t encourage originality, according to research from the University of Exeter. One study shows employees who have control over their workspace are happier, healthier, and 32 percent more productive. So even if you despise your office-mate’s cat posters, let ‘em hang—they’re still good for company morale. (Need a manly way to decorate your space? Learn how to Pimp Your Cube.)
3. Do you take the stairs?
If there’s always a huddle waiting outside the elevator, your office is in bad shape—literally. Skipping out on exercise for just two weeks elevates your risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers asked participants to forgo the stairs and use motorized transportation instead in every situation possible, and after just 14 lazy days, participants had higher levels of glucose and fat in their blood streams than before. Your move: Duh—take the stairs! And if you’re looking for a quick way to boost productivity around the office, consider this: You’ll also save about 15 minutes a day if you ditch the dumbwaiter. In one recent study, it took doctors about 13 seconds to climb a flight of stairs versus the 37 seconds it took to ride the elevator the same distance.