Given how critical fitness and sport is to overall health, it is worth taking a look at exercise and its effects in the one place where nearly all of us will spend a good chunk of our lives: the workplace. This idea has its proponents and opponents, and both views will be discussed herein.
First of all, employees who exercise during working hours can maintain the same level of productivity if not even higher at work. Employees who can spend 1 or 2 hours being physically active at the workplace are likely to be more satisfied with the quantity and quality of their work and are likely to report increased work ability than employees who do not engage in physical activity and spend 8 hours straight sitting at a desk.
Exercise can also reduce stress levels. High levels of stress, like the stress we encounter at our jobs, could damage a person mentally and physically and will thus affect one’s job. Therefore, having the opportunity to release this stress through 1 or 2 hours of sports will in return boost the employee’s productivity.
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Then there are the longer-term benefits to keep in mind. Healthy, active employees are likely to take fewer sick days and bring more energy to the workplace. Incorporating 1 or 2 hours of exercise into the workday will lead to a noticeable reduction in absences. In which fit and healthy workers are less prone to the kinds of preventable, debilitating illnesses that take such a heavy toll on families and on society.
However, there are those who claim that the workplace is not a place for sports. They claim that exercising during worktime will cause physical fatigue and tiredness which in return will distract attention and thus affect the performance of employees. Eventually causing a lack of the overall productivity for the organization.
In conclusion, Exercise in the office could be argued to be a clear win-win idea in terms of health, fitness and productivity. Therefore, it deserves to be put in the spotlight once more. Considering how pervasive heart disease and other preventable illnesses are, it is not an exaggeration to say that our future as healthy individuals, healthy companies, and healthy societies may depend on it.
References
- The benefits of physical activity in the workplace
- Effects of physical activity in the workplace on physical health and mental well-being
- Aerobic Exercise and Cognitive Performance: A Literature Review
- A Better Office Results in a Better Work Place: The Effect of a Physical Renovation on Employee Cognitive Performance
- The Effects of the Physical Work Environment on Worker Productivity: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Studies
