When asked what we want to be when we grow up, no one says "fit and healthy." Instead, we think of our education, training and various ways we might wish to spend 40-50 hours per week. When we enter the workforce, our jobs often take priority over our fitness. Many of us have made the choice (or been forced) to stay late at work and sacrifice our personal time. As we age, we devote time to family and home, reducing our personal time even more. While our precious personal time decreases, our stress level (and often our waistlines), tend to increase.
As a busy professional and working mom, I had to face these challenges head-on. I ran track in high school and always enjoyed running. It's a great way to burn calories and clear my head. But when my kids were little, it was hard to find 30 minutes for a quick jog, or even a walk. I found myself feeling cranky and resentful; feelings that followed me into the office and surely made me less effective at work.
My favorite running shoe is ASICS, which I only recently realized is an acronym for "Anima Sana In Corpore Sano." This Latin phrase translates to "sound mind in a sound body." This has become my mantra, encouraging me to balance mental health, physical health, and business success. Since prioritizing my health in the past five years, I've maintained my weight and kept my blood pressure, cholesterol and other health indicators on track. In addition, the endorphins I get from exercising keep me pumped and energetic enough to run a successful consulting business and keep up with my kids.
Have you ever considered how your health is impacting your career success? Taking care of your health allows you to have more energy, increase productivity and be more effective in all areas of your life. You can't pour from an empty cup. If you've put your health on the back burner, the time is right to re-prioritize. To retain employees, companies are putting more emphasis than ever on flexible scheduling, work-life balance and physical and mental health benefits. If you're wondering whether your career could use a health-boost, consider these work-related benefits of improved fitness:
Enhanced creativity, focus and
problem-solving ability
A 2019 study by the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that morning exercise improves attention, visual learning, and decision-making. To work "on" your problems, you need to step "out" of them. Fresh air, sunshine, and a change of scenery will clear your mind, allowing you the mental clarity to generate better solutions to situations you're facing at work.
Increased motivation and
overall productivity
When you start the day with a good sweat or other exercise, you arrive at work feeling energized and accomplished, rather than resentful and sluggish. It's like you already "won" the day. Further, regular exercise curbs unhealthy snacking and helps actively manage cortisol, a hormone that helps us stay alert but can contribute to stress and weight gain when unregulated.
Fewer absences
The sedentary lifestyle we have adopted in the U.S. is taking a toll on our bodies. We sit an average of 7.7 hours per day. All this sitting sends signals to our brain that we're "powered down," and this low-energy position is creating health effects that cost billions. A 2021 study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reported that obesity results in an average of three more days off work per employee per year. Even more alarming, a 2020 National Library of Medicine article reported that sedentary behavior increases mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer risk, hypertension, osteoporosis and depression. Achieving career success is difficult if you're too sick to show up.
If your health has been on the back burner, or you need a way to kick your career into high gear, make this your year. Start simple, with a quick lunchtime walk or light stretching between meetings. Take the stairs. Park farther away. Pack healthier snacks. Maybe skip the sugary morning "coffee" drink.
Once you master these habits, push it further. Get up a little earlier to exercise, slowly increasing to one hour. Set your gear out the night before. Prep healthier meals. Schedule time on your calendar to hit the gym. Involve your friends for moral support.
A sound mind in a sound body is key to elevating your effectiveness at work or gaining a competitive edge when applying for that big promotion. Good mental and physical health will benefit your career success in many ways, so get busy getting healthy.
Kelly Gust is the CEO of HR Full Circle, a Springfield-based consulting firm that provides talent management and human resources consulting to organizations of all sizes and stages.
