by Bonnie Hayden Cheng Yolanda Na Li
For Harvard Business Review
Image: Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images
Summary.
Although the benefits of physical activity on general well-being are widely acknowledged, there has been a lack of research on how it impacts outcomes at work, including job performance and health. Approximately 200 employees from the UK and China participated in a 10-day study in which the authors captured self-reported and objective physical activity data (via a wearable smart band device), as well as self- and supervisor-reported work outcomes. They uncovered some noteworthy findings about daily physical activity that impact employees and organizations, as well as a few research-backed ways to reap the many benefits of increasing your physical activity.
Worldwide, 1.4 billion adults are insufficiently active, with one in three women and one in four men not engaging in adequate physical activity. In fact, there has been no improvement in physical activity levels since 2001, and physical inactivity is twice as bad in high-income countries than in low-income countries.