Psychology of Health in the Workplace

Psychology of Health in the Workplace
Rhonda Rohde
HCA/250
March 4, 2012
Sarah Caro

Psychology of Health in the Workplace This document will discuss the relationship between health and psychology in the workplace and how certain lifestyle choices affect these areas. This paper will also include examples of lifestyle choices that enhance personal health and reduce illnesses. Understanding how health and psychology relate to each other will allow an individual the ability to be successful in relationships in or out of the workplace. Health is commonly misunderstood as meaning not sick. Health is when a person sustains a good state of mental, social, and physical well-being. Psychology involves understanding the mind and how it relates to behaviors. When studying Psychology the goal is to understand individual and group behaviors by general principles and research. Health and Psychology work together to promote an individual with a sound state of mind and optimal physical health and then the social should fall into place. How an individual decides to live his or her daily life can determine health factors in the future. An example of this would be a person’s daily eating habits. If choosing healthy balanced meals daily including exercise are less likely to acquire diseases such as obesity, cancer, heart disease, or emphysema. These diseases are common with people who choose to consume unhealthy diets, refrain from any physical activity, and make choices like excessive alcoholic beverages or smoking. Maintaining healthy food choices along with some type of physical activity will balance the mind and promotes the ability to make good choices. Having high levels of anxiety can also increase an individual’s chance of developing other illnesses. A person with high anxiety cannot focus and maintain a normal behavior in the workplace. Stressful jobs can cause an individual to worry and become anxious about his or her work performance resulting in an anxiety disorder. This is the most common mental disorder and affects million of adults, young and old, in the United States. An individual can practice daily activities such as yoga, exercise, or meditating to reduce the chance of experiencing anxiety. By making choices to reduce stress will enable a person to perform at a higher capacity in the workplace. Conclusion When an individual makes choices that affect his or her health this can affect how he or she performs in the workplace. An example would be an individual who choices to drink alcohol daily will start to show signs of having an unhealthy mind and poor physical health. By consuming alcohol daily reduces one’s ability to think straight and make clear choices. It also can become a health issue if continued over a period of time. This will make others in the workplace uncomfortable and not trust the choices the individual is making if he or she cannot work without drinking alcohol. Making good decisions about our daily choices made concerning our eating habits will determine our future health. By consuming a healthy diet will decrease a person’s chances of obtaining a chronic disease. Therefore, making good choices about our health will promote a healthy state of mind and help individuals to be successful in or out of the workplace. Finding ways to reduce stress and enhance our daily lifestyle can help an individual to live a balanced and happy life.

References
Taylor, S. E. (2011). Health Pschology (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
WebMd. (2012, March). Anxiety & Panic Disorders Health Center. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/anxiety-at-work

References: Taylor, S. E. (2011). Health Pschology (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. WebMd. (2012, March). Anxiety & Panic Disorders Health Center. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/anxiety-at-work