Are you happy with your job? If you’re a fire fighter, a member of the clergy or, funnily enough, a teacher, then according to a national survey carried out by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago you’re among the 47 or so percent of the working population who like their job and who therefore, because of the impact that work has on our sense of self-worth and identity, generally lead a happier life. I am none of the above, yet I still consider myself to be even more fortunate than even the 87 percent of those men and women of the cloth for whom work is not just an endless toil that brings little or no job satisfaction but something which makes them feel that they have a purpose in life. I enjoy writing, I enjoy working as part of a highly-motivated and creative team and I enjoy rising to new challenges and achieving the goals that we have been set and that I also like to set myself.
What I don’t like are some rather irritating and annoying side effects: Because I spend so much time working in an office and sitting in front of a computer, I often suffer from eye irritation.
My eyes are dry and reddened and sometimes they sting. The situation only gets worse in the wintertime when humidity levels in the office start to dip because of the dry central heating air, which, incidentally, is also a major cause of colds because it dries out the mucous membranes in the mouth, throat and nose thereby making you much more susceptible to infections and viruses and therefore the common cold.
So what can we do to counteract these very unpleasant side effects which office life invariably brings with it?
- Tip No.1 – Make sure your eyes get enough moisture!
Makes sense, doesn’t it? Your eyes, nose and throat need moisture, so why not give it to them? The solution is painfully simple. A bottle of water placed within easy reach of your PC. All you have to do us unscrew the cap and take a big gulp every now and again during the course of the day! - Tip No.2 – Make sure you have the right room climate!
When you’re standing at your office window on a cold winter’s day as you watch the world pass by, then the chances are that the heating in your office is already doing overtime. By hiking up the heating in the room, you are automatically lowering the relative humidity. This means that the air is too dry. Too dry for our eyes and too dry for our mucous membranes. Help is only the press of a button away: an electric humidifier can change the climate in your room or office by increasing the relative humidity to much more bearable and comfortable levels. And because the humidifiers from Trotec are equipped with a built-in humidistat which constantly measures and controls the relative humidity in the room, you yourself can decide which room climate setting suits you most. - Tip No.3 – Give your eyes a break!
Sales assistants are usually on their feet all day. That’s why they like to conserve their energy and give their legs a rest whenever the opportunity arises. It’s no different when a lot of the work you do is done with the help of your eyes. Don’t stay glued to your monitor all day. Allow your mind and eyes to wander simply by focusing on something far off in the distance or something – or perhaps someone – that could take your fancy a little closer by. Fresh air also makes a welcome change. Even when you’re bogged down with work. Because when you return to your desk refreshed and invigorated, then this can only have a positive effect on your work. - Tip No.4 – If you have to wear glasses, then wear them!
Sometimes it’s forgetfulness, sometimes it’s vanity and sometimes there’s no excuse at all which could justify not putting on your glasses when you’re sitting in front of your monitor. If your eye doctor has prescribed them or your optician has recommended them, then you really should wear your glasses. Otherwise you can not only end up having dry eyes, you could also end up with a splitting headache and a number of other nauseous side effects. Contact lenses may look better on some people, but they can also exacerbate the problem of dryness and cause even more irritation. - Tip No.5 – Give your eyes a helping hand!
If your eyes are extremely sore and dry, you should consider applying a few eye drops to soothe the irritation. It’s always best to make sure that the drops do not contain any preservatives as this would only dry out your eyes even more.
By the way, according to the survey carried out by the NORC, roofers labourers, handpackers and cashiers are apparently least happy with their jobs. But what about traffic wardens, call centre operators and sewage workers?
But you know what they say: Never trust a statistic if you didn’t forge it yourself.
