Even if you’re lucky enough to have a gym in your office building, chances are you don’t get as much exercise as you’d like. After all, when you’re stressed and busy, it can be hard to tear yourself away from your desk. Your work performance is priority No. 1, right?
However, research consistently shows that, when it comes to improving your work performance and career trajectory, maintaining a regular exercise habit is critical. Meanwhile, “presenteeism” — showing up at work but functioning at far less than full capacity due to underlying medical issues — is emerging as a substantial burden to companies.
On workers’ ends, presenteeism is a major obstacle toward career performance and advancement. Fortunately, apart from helping manage any under-the-radar health issues that may be affecting your ability to do your job, exercise can directly improve how well you do it — boosting your odds of getting that raise, promotion or corner office. Findings published in 2012 in the Journal of Labor Research link maintaining a regular exercise habit with a 6% to 10% average wage increase.
“Exercise changes both the brain’s processes and structure,” says Jim McKenna, a professor of physical activity and health at Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom. “By processes, we mean factors such as speed and working memory — how efficient your brain is at going through its library and pulling files. In terms of structure, we’re talking about creating pathways to the library and other structures where there weren’t ones before.”
Here are some research-backed ways that making fitness a priority in your life can improve your career performance and bottom line:
- Increasing all-around workplace productivity
- Making you a better colleague
- Improving creativity
- Reducing cognitive decline with age
- Bolstering mental health
[See: How Fit Are You? Consider These 6 Measures.]
Increasing all-around workplace productivity.
Exercise can help you do more — and better quality — work in less time. McKenna’s 2017 research, published in BMC Public Health, shows that when workers integrate more movement into their workdays, they’re better at meeting tight scheduling demands and performing cognitive tasks. As a result, workers were able to turn out higher quantities and qualities of work. His prior research, this time in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management, estimates that exercising for 30 to 60 minutes during the workday improves total productivity by an average of 15%.
Put it to work: Integrate “sit less, move more” strategies into your day, McKenna recommends. Simply getting up once per hour to walk around, stretch and do some bodyweight exercises in front of your desk can make a big difference. Consider setting an alarm or, if you work on a Mac, download the Time Out app for regular break reminders you can’t miss.
Making you a better colleague.
“I’ve consistently found that workers report better interactions with colleagues on days they exercise or when implementing a regular exercise routine into their weeks,” McKenna says.
That’s good because, even if climbing the corporate ladder isn’t completely a popularity contest, it somewhat is: The easier and more pleasant you are to work with, the more apt higher-ups will be to keep you around and happy in your position. You’ll also be far more effective at naturally networking in the office, turning your coworkers into people who, one day, might help your career out in a big way.
Put it to work: Join or start an exercise group at work. If your office building has a fitness facility, take advantage of its equipment or stream an exercise class on the studio’s smart TV. Plan to meet weekly at a specified time to work toward a goal that you all find motivating.
[See: 6 Exercises Women Should Do Every Day.]
Improving creativity.
In 2014, researchers at Stanford University measured people’s creativity levels while they sat and then while they walked. The findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, suggest that your creative output jumps by an average of 60% when you’re walking versus sitting in your desk chair.
“Evolutionarily, it was a good idea for us to learn and come up with things on the hoof,” adds McKenna, explaining that when you move or walk around, your levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that promotes brain growth and function, increases. “Even now, most people still get their great ideas when they’re moving.”
Put it to work: Schedule walking meetings. If you’re the boss, this is easy. If not, try bringing the idea up during your next (seated) team meeting. Your boss is likely to appreciate the fact that you’re taking an active interest in helping the team perform its best.
Reducing cognitive decline with age.
It’s often said that people are promoted to their level of incompetence, but exercise can help ensure that once you hit the upper echelons of your profession, you’re still fresh and on top of your game. A 2019 Neurology study shows that aerobic exercise increases cortical thickness and executive function — memory, thinking and cognitive control — in individuals as young as 20 and helps close the gap in cognitive function between younger and older adults.
Study author Yaakov Stern, director of cognitive neuroscience at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, explains that exercise minimizes the changes that occur in the brain with each passing decade. It also allows the brain to better adapt to any changes that do occur. While the study looked at aerobic exercise specifically, it’s likely that other modes of exercise, such as resistance training and yoga, would show similar benefits, he says.
Put it to work: It’s never too late to start exercising, and no workout is too small. Research published in 2019 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions shows that engaging in just 10 minutes of moderate activity per day, or getting 5,000 steps per day, is linked to better brain function in middle-aged and older adults.
Bolstering mental health.
Unmanaged stress, psychological burnout, depression, anxiety — they all impact your ability to do your best work, says Dr. Jagan Pillai, a neurologist with the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. He explains that exercise, however, consistently proves itself to be one of the most beneficial lifestyle interventions for improving mental health. In fact, 2014 research in Frontiers in Psychology shows that exercise doesn’t just decrease stress, it strengthens your capacity to deal with the stress in your life — or workplace.
[See: Exercise Equipment for Seniors.]
Again, the adaptations that occur in the brain with consistent exercise likely play a role. However, it’s important to realize that the skills developed through facing and overcoming challenges in the gym have tremendous carry-over to other areas of life.
Put it to work: When you’re in a mental or emotional lull, exercise is usually the last thing you want to do. Have a policy that, in these times, you’ll still engage in some sort of movement — even a walk around the block. Having an easily attainable quota will make it easier for you stay active when you’d much rather hide in bed — and it’s always possible that a short walk will lead to more activity and more mental benefits.
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Ways Your Fitness Boosts Your Career originally appeared on usnews.com
