Set Your Fitness Goals. We'll Help You Achieve Them.
Join for free and you'll gain instant access to our tracking and reporting tools, expert coaching tips, and a free trial to our personalized training and nutrition programs.
Blogs
Live Better
Get Fit Now: Your Life (and Job) Depends on It
Getty Images
Being a member of today’s workforce is like playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates—success is a struggle and security is an after-thought. It’s this pickle that is driving so many men and women to spend more hours behind their desk, while giving the cold shoulder to their families and fitness regimens. But is this ultra-marathoner work mentality paying off?
According to new research from the Families and Work Institute (FWI), the trend is leading to higher job turnover rates and health consequences for the population. Their report, titled The State of Health in the American Workforce, provides years of comparisons of life on and off the job. A snippet of their findings:
- One-third of the workforce shows signs of clinical depression.
- Twenty-seven percent of employees experienced sleep problems that affect their job performance in the last month at least sometimes.
- One-third of employees today say their overall health is "excellent"—a significant decline of six percent since 2002.
- More than one in five employees is currently receiving treatment for high blood pressure; 14 percent are being treated for high cholesterol.
- The majority of employees do not exercise on a regular basis.
- Nearly 62 percent of employed individuals are overweight or obese.
- Around 41 percent of employees report feeling stressed sometimes, often or very often.
- One-third of employees report that their work has a primarily negative impact on their lives off the job by draining energy, so they don't have enough left for their personal life or family
Fast Company recently reviewed the study and pulled some dead-on conclusions from the information:
- People completely underestimate the worth of wellness.
- Businesses still don’t accept the importance of this factor on their bottom lines.
While exercise is critical in all of this, so is health insurance, paid vacation time and sick days. Some clarity on the work/life divide: The FWI researchers found that benefits experienced on the homefront actually make their way back to the office. The study states that employees’ personal or family life is more likely to have a positive impact on the level of energy they bring to their work than the other way around.
Generally, employees in better physical and mental health, with lower frequency of sleep problems and lower levels of stress whose jobs have a positive impact on their energy at home are more likely to be engaged, satisfied, and plan to remain with their employers.
Cali Yost, author of the Fast Company article, makes a great suggestion for what you, as an employee, can do: Start making small, simple changes to improve your health. She calls it "One Small Thing." Our blog "One Small Change" helps you do exactly that every month by providing the strategies and support you need to succeed in making small changes.
The FWI’s bottom line: “Employees’ physical and mental health, stress levels, sleep quality, and energy levels all significantly impact important work outcomes of interest to employers, such as engagement, turnover intent and job satisfaction.”
Meaning, a fit workforce will translate into a more fiscally sound America. Hopefully, these findings will help push more employers to place a greater importance on exercise and nutrition in their workplace. It’s a low-cost investment that could pay huge dividends on so many levels.
About The Author
David Schipper – David began writing for CorePerformance.com in 2008, after spending six years at Men's Health magazine digging up the newest scientific research in health, weight loss, nutrition, muscle and cardiovascular fitness.
Comments
Stay Connected
Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get expert performance tips delivered to your inbox.
