EVOLVE Business and Professional Magazine August 2020 | Page 25

But beyond this guidance, employees and employers might
consider short-term wellness and longer-term design changes that
create an environment that maximizes everyone’s ability to stay
healthy now and in the future.
Teresa Rand of Rand Consulting, a
consulting firm that advocates for businesses
to invest in employees and individual wellness
through holistic practices and yoga, advises
employees returning to work to “have discipline
plus knowledge.” Early in her career, Rand was
Teresa Rand
a group exercise instructor, going into schools
and training teachers. Then, as CEO of the Volusia Flagler Family
YMCA, Rand implemented the Live Your Life Challenge with
Halifax Hospital and started a partnership with Florida Health
Care Plans for YMCA wellness offerings through their company
insurance plans.
When asked about wellness in the office, Rand says that beyond
the standardized health practices that most businesses are putting
into place, employees should focus on personal wellness to keep
their immune systems up and manage their stress levels during
this time of upheaval. Rand believes it is important that businesses
remain mindful and encouraging of best wellness practices during
the pandemic, including “encouraging employees to schedule more
time to work out regularly.” Rand also suggests we follow some
general guidelines to promote wellness whether working from
home or in the office:
1. Get up every hour, if not more frequently, for a
minimum of 5 to 10 minutes. While up, make sure you
stretch, doing little exercises to keep your mental focus
up and prevent muscle pain.
2. Invest in a good chair! If working from home avoid
setting up your quarantine office on the dining room
table where the chairs may not promote best posture,
the couch, bed, or floor. You should find a space where
you can use an ergonomically correct chair for you.
3. Set small goals & find an accountability partner
COVID-19 isn’t just shaping the present;
it’s also altering our future. Dana Smith, Vice
President of DJ Design, the Holly Hill based
architecture and design firm, says he sees some
smaller design changes becoming permanently
Dana Smith
Team Volusia thanks
Duke Energy for their
ongoing investment in
Volusia County.
In collaboration with some of the nation’s
top site selection firms, the Duke Energy
Site Readiness Program has evaluated
three sites in Volusia County. Amazon
recently selected one of the sites – the
Portland Industrial Park – for its 1.4
million-square-foot fulfillment park.