When it comes to exercise many use the excuse of work hours getting in the way of exercise hours. Or that they simply cannot afford joining a gym, or purchasing any gym equipment. Well what if I was to tell you that you can actually make more money if you were to make the time for exercise?!
While no one is going to sit at the gym door or come knocking on your handing you money for every workout, a new study does show that “regular exercise could result in a pay rise of roughly 6 to 10% over those employees who are coach potatoes” according to an article on Inquisitir.com.
While many other cause-and-effect studies have been done on this subject before; only to come to the conclusion that they are not sure if the outcome was simply that gym-goers are more disciplined, meaning they make for better workers. So these results may indicate that they only earn more because of their work ethics, nothing to do with the fact that they actually workout.
Yet this latest study done by Vasilios D. Kosteas of Cleveland State University, took a more statistical approach using a technique called “propensity-score matching”. The idea was to take each subject and to score them on factors such as age, education level, and whether or not they played sports in high school.
He then compared subjects with others who had similar scores, some who exercised and some who did not. Kosteas stated that his study showed those who exercised earned more than those who did not exercise in their similar range of scores.
According to an article on LifeHacker, the idea of the propensity score matching technique helped to “determine whether the employees who earned more were people who always led healthy lives and were good at their jobs anyway, or people who specifically made a point to exercise more on a regular basis.” The way this study was done proved that even those who had no history of healthy behavior still did better at work and were rewarded by their employers once they started working out regularly.
This is not the first study to prove exercising improves performance in other areas of life. Many studies have shown that exercise increases your intelligence by boosting mental function, improving moods and positive attitudes, while also boosting energy levels. Each of these factors is going to make you a more valuable employee, which is then going to lead to a higher pay. Basically stating the better you feel from regular exercise, the better you work.
Now those who say they cannot afford to workout due to the lack of that exercise raise, can simply workout at home. There are many online health information websites full of exercises one can do at home. You can simply run around the block or YouTube exercise workout videos, there are many opportunities to workout at home or on a low budget. Little extra exercises here and there around the house will add up.
Don’t think this means you have to be grueling yourself working out 20 hours a week on top of your 40 hour a week work schedule to earn more. According to the study, regular exercise is considered working out at least three hours per week, which is very doable. That comes out to about 25 minutes a day.
We all have 25 minutes a day we could fit in a little exercise. Take half your lunch and go for a run. Wake up 30 minutes early and run on your treadmill or around the block for 30 minutes. These will all help you to feel better and work better, leading to that pay raise.
The study does conclude that “while even moderate exercise yields a positive earnings effect, frequent exercise generates an even larger impact.” So although it the study showed it only takes 3 hours a week to see improvements, the more the merrier in this situation.
Now don’t get discouraged if you start working out and you don’t receive that raise within a month, this will take time like any other exercise program and weight loss approach. There is no guarantee that every individual who workouts is going to find themselves with a raise.
The benefits of exercise will bring on other rewards though; like improved health which will lead to lower healthcare costs, improved mood and energy which will leave you the ability to remain productive into old age. This will give you the ability to make more money down the road than if you were to be a coach potato who develops weak muscles and heart disease as you age, leaving you not able to work.
The benefits of exercise are endless, and we can now add make more money to that list.