GUNG-HO CO-WORKERS?
Exercise enthusiasts can be valuable assets in the workplace, study suggests
If you're passionate about your fitness routine, there's a good chance some of the enthusiasm spills over into other parts of your life, including the workplace. At least, that's what a team of Irish researchers from Ulster University set out to prove, suggesting a love of exercise fuels a similar passion for work.
It's not unusual for exercise enthusiasts to relish the time spent working up a sweat, happily putting in the hours it takes to improve their proficiency and realize ambitious goals like running a marathon, completing a triathlon or being named to the roster of an elite team. Training isn't a chore, it's part of what makes them tick. Their exercise routine is so entrenched, it becomes part of their identity — they refer to themselves as swimmers, runners, cyclists, triathletes, hockey players and so on. As their proficiency increases, so does their confidence and the chance for success.
“People are more likely to commit hours of engagement to their chosen craft when they love and value the activity,” said the researchers, explaining how passion builds competency.
Given that many of the traits it takes to succeed in exercise and sport are also sought and valued in the workplace, the research team hypothesized that enthusiastic exercisers showed the same level of passion and success at work.
“There are a number of pathways that passion for physical activity can enhance job performance,” said the researchers, who cited energy, vigour, enthusiasm and innovation as some of the positive qualities exercisers can bring to the workplace.
To test the idea that passion for exercise translates into passion for work, a survey was sent to a group of enthusiastic cyclists, asking questions related to their exercise habits, commitment to exercise, performance at work and life satisfaction. It turns out that 89 per cent of cyclists who reported being passionate about exercise also reported high levels of work performance and innovation. These results were consistent regardless of age, gender and work status.
Interestingly, the researchers also determined that life satisfaction was a key metric when it comes to the positive connection between exercise and performance at work. Exercise enthusiasts tend to be happy. And they bring that happiness into the workplace, where it translates to increased performance and innovation.
But there is a caveat: There are those who cross the line from enthusiasm to obsession.
Consider the runner who sets an ambitious goal, like finishing a marathon. A healthy approach to training means balancing the responsibilities of family and work with time spent pounding the pavement. A less harmonious approach would be prioritizing training over family and work commitments, including ignoring persistent aches and pains in favour of soldiering on.
“Not all forms of passion are positive,” said the researchers.
“A harmonious passion for physical activity is associated with enhanced life satisfaction, work performance and work innovativeness, whereas an obsessive passion is not.”
Among the cyclists who were polled, 45 per cent reported at least a moderate obsessive passion for exercise, which suggests there is a fine balance between what the researchers term harmonious passion and obsessive passion.
“As revealed in the sample of cyclists who also occupied employment roles, passion for physical activity directly and indirectly (through life satisfaction) enhances organizational performance outcomes, but only for harmonious passion,” the researchers said.
What does this mean for employees and employers?
Creating an organizational culture that recognizes and supports employees who demonstrate a commitment to maintaining a healthy exercise routine does more than boost morale — it has the potential to increase overall life satisfaction, which in turn heightens job performance and innovation. Aiming to benefit from a similar level of commitment to work performance as that demonstrated toward physical activity, employers also stand to profit from the energy and resilience that are hallmarks of fit employees.
Goal driven, energetic, healthy and happy employees are the lifeblood of the workplace.
“For managers attempting to enhance performance and innovation among employees, the present research suggests that one way to accomplish this is to look beyond the formal work environment and instead toward extracurricular physical activity,” the researchers suggest.
“Many organizations already have such programs in place, through free or discounted gym memberships or by integrating fitness tracking technologies into employee wellness programs.”
As for employees, the ability to fuel their passion for exercise, and the knowledge that it's valued in the workplace, fends off some of the stress and burnout associated with work.
Compatibility between exercise goals and workplace goals adds to life satisfaction and leads to a better fit between employee and employer. In short, it makes work a better place.