From a reader with a sore ass — due to HR.
It could be you.
Over the last 4 weeks I have been experiencing pain in one of my hip flexors. My doctor has sent me to physical therapy to treat it. After the physical therapists tested out different stretching and strength tests, she informed me that the reason that I am experiencing pain is that my gluteus muscles have atrophied and other muscles and tendons are overcompensating when I work out. In other words, from sitting on my ass for 12 hours a day between my commute and the need to be at my desk for the majority of my day, my ass muscle has shrunk and it is effecting the rest of my body. Technically, I think this could be considered a workers’ comp issue, but I am not going to push it. Feel free to share this story if you like as another “HR can suck” story.
I have to tell you something: I personally went through a similar situation except that my my hip rotators were so sore that I felt pain in my butt, my thighs, and my pelvic floor. That’s right. My sedentary lifestyle hurt my hips, my ass, and my ladyparts.
I’m not proud to admit this, and it feels quite odd to write about it, but the doctor reassured me that pelvic floor pain is a common condition in women who work in offices or sit on their butts, all day long. I don’t doubt this for a minute, but women never talk about it. I was sent to physical therapy. Have you ever gone to physical therapy for pelvic pain? There’s nothing more humbling than being in your early 30s and sitting in a waiting room with women who sneeze and pee. They all had the same look on their faces, too.
“You’re awfully young to sneeze and pee on yourself.”
I never learned about the interconnectedness of my core, my pelvis, and my ass in health class, and I never knew my job would hurt my body in such a visceral way. Here’s what I do know: any job, including Human Resources, can bruise the mind, the body, and the ego. When your butt hurts from work, it’s time to make a change.
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How much of this is simply an ergonomic issue with poorly designed office chairs?
@Bruno Nope, not office chairs. Or not all of it.
This begs the question that if you are in HR, why are you sat down behind a desk all day and not getting out there into the business and meeting people?
The little things can add up:
- skip the elevator, take the stairs
- park further away and add as much walking as you can from your vehicle to the office
- life is busy, but whether its easier to do it before or after work (or perhaps part before and part after), fit 30 minutes of exercise into your day
- get away from your desk and make your “HR rounds” and walk the floor, even if you are thinking that you can’t take yourself away from your desk work, put on another hat and look for potential safety violations on your walk and/or talk to employees out on the job and make your HR dept less of a faceless bureaucracy, etc
- jump for joy that you haven’t been fired because of that project that you let slide and Roger from Payroll ended up taking the heat on…
All of these things may be little in nature, but add up to a stronger ass!
@TheHRD What am I? The activities coordinator on the Love Boat? When I worked for Pfizer, I traveled and sat on my butt. For most f my career, I sat in meetings with my clients, recruited people (lots & lots of phone screens), interviewed people (sitting down), and did 99% of my job seated. My job wasn’t to press the flesh and sell used cars.
@Chris Sounds like a wellness brochure.
***
I want to bring up something about HR Rounds. I read a study in the 90s from my boss and it said that making those rounds actually made employees less productive and more nervous no matter how often you did it. It’s a very old-school, power-intensive way of connecting with employees and it was very intimidating. You’re on their turf, and no matter how many times you go through and smile and offer cookies, it’s a breach of the power structure. There were better ways to break through the power hierarchy at work. I can’t remember them all, but round table meetings, true “open door” policies, lunch in the cafeteria, go out to lunch with employees, open meetings, keep your office door open, position your office in an area that is accessible, etc. Also, as much as we think HR should be out there with the people (per HRD’s point), I’m not sure we should. We’re not union shop stewards. We don’t ask our IT and Accounting professionals to press the flesh. We ask them to work.
Does anyone new or lurking have anything to add?
So it’s true… my job really is a pain in my a$$!
Just to clarify (I got an email on this) — those other women sneezed & peed because they had kids. They were going to PT to tighten things up. I was visiting the same PT provider to stretch those overly-tight muscles and loosen them up. Same area of the body, different problem. Should I assume that all of those other women were in the office for urinary incontinence? Yes, I should. It’s my blog.
Snort! I got up this AM, stood up and almost immediately my leg buckled because of the pain. Too much sitting and not enough exercise. I live in a winter state and it’s wall to wall ice, so walking any distance outdoors is out. I do Tai chi three days a week and the other four I agree with Suzann, HR has given me a pain in me arse.
I knew that working in HR would end up being a pain in my ass!
Unfortunately, the research shows that if you sit all day it causes major health and heart issues. And like Chris suggests your best way of managing that is to get up and walk around as much as you can. With all this pushing for Wellness, you would think a basic activity like this would be addressed. Would a standing meeting every once in awhile kill anyone? Running on my lunch hour is the best I got.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100121/HEALTH/1210339/-1/archive/Sitting+bad+for+health++even+if+you+exercise
Hmm, could this be the cause of my fertility problems???
Hmmm..So you’re saying that sitting down all day long actually SHRINKS your ass? My empirical evidence doesn’t seem to support that
This is way too much information for me….tee hee, you guys are too much!
When I had my first HR Generalist sort of gig, I actually did a lot of walking. I had to chase down managers and employees, and was constantly called on the mediate something or other.
I left that job for one closer to my home so that I could walk to work rather than sitting in a car for 15 – 60 minutes one way. However, since I’m at my desk all day now, I think I’m less active, even with a 25 minute walk to and from work.
Thankfully, though, I have no ass-pain.
I read the same study Stacey did. Even when they accounted for exercise, hours of sitting per day was directly related to heart problems. It didn’t matter if you work out in your free time or not.
I just started doing Yoga to help with my pain in the ass – albeit not a literal one!
I go back and forth regarding HR Rounds as I’ve seen both the positive and negative effects it can have. Especially now, when HR is highly identified with staff reductions, any sight of us has management sweating and associates not looking us in the eye! I like to engage with associates during their staff meetings and/or other activities that allow us to show more of our human sides than our business sides (Do not read as Happy Hour!!!).
Actually, I have been meeting new associates while at the company gym, in my workout gear, that seems to disarm many of them right away!
You should take up smoking– it get’s you out of the office once in a while.
Y’know– I’m a very visual person— and what’s funny is reading all the stories I instantly try to visualize what everyone’s ass looked like– and btw– everyone had a Selma Hayek ass (maybe a pound thrown in here and there), so it’s all good—
As an HR person that does sit at her desk a good deal of the time, it is not because I chose not to interact with employees…it’s because that’s where my computer is located. Although HR does involve working with people, it also involve crunching numbers, generating reports, creating policies, etc…Add in to a lengthy commute every day and I too suffer from the literal and figurative HR pain in the ass.
I know, I know…it’s all about choices. That’s why I like @MattyMat’s suggestion of taking up smoking. I’ll move around more AND have more interaction time with employees!
I’ve never worked in HR myself, but in my previous life as a career counselor, I dealt with all sorts of students and graduates who had a glamorous view of HR. They’d say they wanted to go into the field because it’s a people job where you connect with people all day and smile a lot and have tons of fun. Oh, and they didn’t like accounting or sales but they wanted to work in business. If they took my advice and did informational interviews, research, and internships, a good percentage of them came back to me with a different perspective. They were there to help people, but the way they did it was crunching numbers, dealing with benefits, generating reports, and answering e-mail. Maybe they got to move around as they went from one part of the building to another for meetings. Oh, and the interviewing and hiring stuff (which most of them thought WAS all of HR) wasn’t what it was cracked up to be.
I think in an ideal world HR professionals are all getting up and around talking to people, exercising during their lunch breaks, and not sitting on their butts. With budget cuts around here (a 1400 employee institution) our HR professionals are lucky if they can answer all their e-mails and generate reports/forms that are legally necessary. Lunch break? What lunch break? They’re salaried and the work doesn’t go away.
We’re all lucky to have jobs of course, but I don’t know if it’s always easy to follow everyone’s great advice to protect that butt and those lady parts.
We have a distinctly flat-ass trait in the Judy DNA strain – I have it, my dad has it, my brother has it, and I unfortunately have to report that my eldest daughter seems to have inherited it. When I was in elementary school, one of my many nick names was “Droopy Booty Judy.” That’s a tough thing for a kid to overcome. And the amount of money I’ve spent at the tailor to keep my pants from constantly falling to the floor…sheeesh.
How about walking meetings? Only works when there are 2 or 3 people, but could help. And doing kegels is mandatory.
Another idea – a standing desk. Measure from desktop to your elbow. You can build a flat base to put your laptop or keyboard on so that you can alternate between sitting and standing. Using a phone headset could help with it, too.
I started using DirectLife to force myself to be more active – I weigh too much and was not moving anywhere near enough. It’s working as a reminder…a pedometer can help do the same thing.
Oh heck…okay, so the stuff in the vending machines is deadly, the stress from job uncertainty and financial challenges will kill me, the second-hand smoke I have to walk through on my way to my car is life-threatening, the florescent bulbs in my office will destroy my eyesight, and my cell phone is threatening the health of my brain.
And now, Laurie, you are telling me that just hiding out in my office and trying to do my job despite all those hazards is also going to do me in! Geez! Feeling the stress level rising even as I type…agggghhhhhhh!
(PS…three kids, no need for PT. Just sharing!)
Wonderful article & loving the comments; because I’m at the desk about 14+ hrs/day. My backside is on the small side and I actually have a pillow to reduce any pain not caused by 1) HMs 2) Candidates 3) People in the way of info I need.
Totally agree with Marsha on the Kegels…it is a gift that keeps on giving. Also joined the PUC, Push Up Challenge, being promoted by Chris Hoyt that gets you and moving: http://www.recruiterguy.net/personal/pushin-up-the-work.html. Looking forward to more suggestions…
Hm. I guess I can see how “making the rounds” might simply make people nervous, but that isn’t my experience. I swear I learn more about operations by wandering over to a cube-huddle than I do in the quarterly updates and I like to think it makes HR a bit less faceless.
I never had a problem with my pelvic floor. The sciatic nerve, on the other hand…
I actually sneezed and pee’d just reading all this.
Speaking of getting in shape has anyone tried the Wii Fit? I was told that if you’re off of the program for too long that it yells at you and your little Mii avatar gets fat. I’m not sure if it will motivate me or make me cry. Either I’d Wii Fit religiously or go “damn Wii, I was fine..but now I hate myself and the only thing that will fix me is chocolate and a bottle of wine..thanks”
@corporatedaycare AMEN.
@Jen What a story. You are so right that it’s not easy when you have to balance paying your mortgage or sacrificing your butt muscles & comfort.
@Charlie OMG, hilarious.
@Marsha I don’t get paid to stand. Fuck that.
@Lindsay Braggart! HAahahahah.
@Marie Make no mistake about this: my blog is not pro-wellness. I’m pro-pretzels and potato chips. I like my couch.
@Robin Me too!
@Stacey I love Wii but I’m not a fan of being lectured into wellness by technology.
@mattymat no smokes for me. yuck.
@hrjefe I worked out with the riff raff at Kemper. They laughed at my tummy bulges and I said, “I’m the HR manager responsible for mergers and acquisitions. Your division is now on notice.” We laughed & laughed. Fuckers.
@Suz The heart is doomed.
@Jon “Active” is relative, I guess.
@Latina Glad you got a laugh out of it.
@Scott Shrinks your ass muscle. The fat? Notsomuch!!
@KDD Most likely no. I’m sorry.
@Stacey That’s depressing.
@Michael Yup, blame it on HR.
@ali Time to change careers!
So if you have a fat ass family heritage, are you exempt from this??? I have this but still suffer from abdominal pain a little bit. I think it’s my back from all the time in the ‘chair’ but never thought it could be leading to this! I guess I better get back to working out and stop my couch potato ways at home too!!! I keep telling myself “I don’t want to get old” but I am personally so much happier than when I was 25! Great, I just learned that my eyes are getting worse and have to wear glasses more fulltime now I have this to worry about?! Wonderful
How is this for non-sit-down jobs I’ve had? Waitressing? Feet hurt, back issues, shoulder issues, and mental stress. Running a Home Depot department? OMG….all of that, then stress fractures from cement floor, bad back from lifting, injuries from falling stuff, (and all this with good shoes and a back brace). Also, I’ve been a hairdresser, and have scars in between my fingers from razor sharp shears and of course, standing on feet all day HURTS. And….housepainter….ask me about climbing up a 30 foot ladder on a windy day with a hornets nest in your face.
Now am I desk jockey, and I have brand new pains, much how Laurie describes! And I work out like a fiend (always have), take daily walks, and sit in a good chair. And my eyeballs are killing me from looking at monitors. Which kind of job life was better? I wish I knew. Maybe…..sailing?????
I think I’ll become a pro wakeboarder. At least I’ll be having fun while I aquire my job related injuries.
atrophied belly muscles aint good either…
Suz and Stacey, is there actually a study involved there? Sounded like it was an editorial. I see where the researcher claims there is some kind of feedback that causes harmful effects in the body, but it doesn’t sound like there was actually a study that showed sitting at a desk for work increases your risk of death or health problems.
I am not cross-examining, so you are certainly not required to answer me. I just thought if you had the reference easily at hand, I wouldn’t mind reading the study.
I’m not a big supporter of the “walk-around philosophy.” It might be perceived that I don’t have enought to do in my current position and, in this economy, companies expect there workers to be 110% engaged.
I do miss a previous job I had where I had to literally run around all day putting out fires. Not an ideal company, but my ass looked great!
@spacecowgirl – There were multiple studies that reported the same results. The editorial you refer to was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. It described a study done by Dr. Elin Ekblom-Bak of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences. It was a meta-analysis of multiple smaller studies.
There was also a Canadian study done by Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk at the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Insititute. This was a huge study with 17,000 subjects. It was a longitudinal study and followed patients from 1981 to 2002.
Hi Laurie – last year I was having annoying back pain so I decided to visit a doctor – his diagnosis? A tight ass. Yup – that’s what he said. Sadly not the good kind of tight ass – tight ass as in too tight gluteal muscles. He prescribed morning stretching exercises to loosen my muscles but the thought of trying to loosen my ass when I spend so much time trying to tighten it doesn’t seem right!
Thanks Suz. I will check them out.