I'm motivated to stay healthy in my job one to help me in doing my day-to-day activities
which can be quite physical and mentally stressful and also to allow me to have energy for the
evening when I get home to my family.
I've worked in the construction industry for 10 years now in Australia.
In my time in the construction industry I think attitudes have changed.
I think people are a lot more aware of the different health issues that are relevant
to the construction industry.
However I think it takes a while for people to actually adapt their lifestyles to these
changes.
I've made some big changes in probably the last two years.
The real catalyst for me was the birth of my daughter and once you start to change a
few things and everything gets better and you feel better then it motivates you to keep
going.
Some of the things I've found that help me stay healthy at work would be one to try and
do a little bit of exercise in the morning before I go to work even if it just means
a short walk with the dog or some light stretching.
Planning for meals is a big one.
I always try and make sure we do a shop at the weekend and I buy some of the foods that
I know I'm going to eat for lunches.
My partner has helped a lot in that as well.
I think you need your whole family on board as regards planning your meals.
When I'm at work my job involves being out on site a lot but also being in the office.
So I find simple things like standing up, going for a bit of a walk when you're taking
phone calls or not sitting for extended periods of time to try and split the desk work over
the course of the day rather than spending an extended period of time sitting at the
desk.
Watch what you eat which is very obvious but sometimes not as obvious as you may think
because there's a lot of misinformation around and then just putting the time and effort
into doing it.
You know, it might take a little extra preparation in the evenings or the mornings to make your
lunch or cook your dinner fresh rather than, you know, take-away and that and the quicker
options.
The small changes added up and I started to feel better and that makes your work easier
and more comfortable.
And from there it just sort of snowballs and everything gets easier and you feel better
and you keep building on it.
The industry is definitely headed in the right direction.
Companies like Shamrock seem to be at the forefront of this with the Health and Wellbeing
Department which was unheard of when I came into the industry.
There's still a way to go but we're well on the way to getting there.
The best advice I could give to a new worker starting out in construction would be to take
advantage of the resources available to them.
Get involved in any healthy initiatives that their company is promoting and to try and
start with good habits - preparing their own food, healthy eating, keeping hydrated.
Do not allow the long working hours and days to deter you from keeping involved in sporting
activities.
Cutting out the liquid calories I suppose, so your soft drinks, your ice coffees, all
those sort of things, drink more water and then just eat fresh, real food.
Take the stairs instead of the escalator when you're at the shops.
So the small things add up.
My favourite lunches is leftover dinner.
So whatever you're having for dinner make a bit extra and take that or just knock up
a salad and cook an extra steak and throw it in the lunch box.
It doesn't get much simpler than that.
The big motivation for me to stay healthy and active is to be around for my family.
I want to walk my daughter down the aisle and be a grandfather and all those things
and the choices that I make now will influence whether I'm around to do those things later
on.