It is every employee’s dream to be in the best mental space and the top-most physical condition when they are working. Be it on a priority task or a big project that will take a considerable amount of time, the employees want to push themselves that extra yard and work that little bit harder to deliver their best.
While employees work to achieve their goals and go beyond their limit at times, there are a lot of times that it comes at a cost. Exhaustion, tiredness, and burnouts are very common in employees today affecting employee wellness, productivity, and happiness.
This can be combated with the introduction of sports and fitness in one’s life. In no way can it go away in one day or one week or be eradicated completely, sports and fitness only play a role in helping one reduce the stress levels and could improve one’s mental space which in turn could keep them in better stead when they are working.
We know that fitness and sports help immensely in keeping oneself fit and healthy, however, it also plays a huge role in maintaining mental health and wellness. The importance of one’s mental health and wellness has never been as high as it is now. In fact, even more so in the current world where work from home has taken precedence.
For people working from home, human interaction has reduced, and physical activity has come down drastically. Everything that an employee needs is on a table or a chair or any specific place where he/she is working. Be it meetings, water or even food, everything could well be happening in one place which is in stark contrast to their office work culture. In fact, even recreational activities are completed on that table or chair or any specific place where the employee is working quite often.
Hence, with the mind and body occupied in one place more often than not, sports and fitness could come in as a happy distraction. A morning walk of say around 30 mins and a little bit of exercise could well keep one fresh for the entire day. It increases productivity and employee wellness quite a bit and avoids the slump that employees usually feel after meals. It ensures that the energy levels are high throughout the day as well.
In fact, research shows that exercise and fitness help in reducing stress, decreases fatigue to a certain extent and even improves employee wellness and performance in their respective work. Furthermore, the study also points out that fitness could condense the absentees in work. Not only in your work life, but fitness also improves your sleep cycle and personal head space.
Sports can act as a welcome distraction. The connection between physical activity and sports and employee wellness and productivity is very established since the start of civilization. Research has proved that sports and outdoor recreation have a massive effect on the overall employee life cycle. Be it in terms of morale, productivity, employee wellness or even the atmosphere around, the employee scores higher when he/she plays or participates in sports and physical recreational activities.
These may be clichés, but it is well known that teamwork is important and sports and other recreational activities help aid in employee wellness, employee engagement and productivity quite a bit. The competitive edge that is developed is another factor that amplifies the need to include sports and fitness in one’s life.
There is often the reason of “not having enough time” or “being too busy”. Yes, that is true, but it is crucial for the employee to give their body and their mind frequent breaks. They may be taking leaves but that is not the constant. Leaves and off days are exhaustive while giving your body and mind a part of your day is not.
Hence, having fitness, sports, and physical recreational activities as a part of an employee’s work life is vital. Let’s try giving an hour or two for about three or four days a week. Take part in a sporting or a physical recreational activity twice a week and go for a walk or exercise three or four days a week. That will ensure that you constantly have something on your plate.
Moreover, the importance and critical nature of this is even more in the prevailing pandemic situation. Work from home is here to stay and no physical activity could only see the employee’s work life cycle turn into a monotonous one. It could have its own mental and physical wellness issues as well.
Therefore, we believe sports, fitness and physical recreation is a vital cog in a working professional’s day to day life! Pick a sport or activity and give your body and mind a chance to break free from the stress. Treat yourself to something new and engage yourself one day at a time!
Author
Sahil D Jain
Freelance Sports Writer