Exercise is Part of Your Job
In the October 2014 issue of Harvard Business Review, author Dr. Ron Friedman asserts that exercise not only enhances our performance in the workplace but, indeed, exercise is actually a part of our job. He states, “Instead of viewing exercise as something we do for ourselves—a personal indulgence that takes us away from our work—it’s time we started considering physical activity as part of the work itself. The alternative, which involves processing information more slowly, forgetting more often, and getting easily frustrated, makes us less effective at our jobs and harder to get along with our colleagues.”
Since this 2014 article, significant metanalytical studies on the relationship between strength training and cognitive function, memory, and even work-life balance have added merit to Friedman’s statement.
There is also a growing body of research that supports exercise as a foundational discipline of effective leaders and managers. Authors of a 2002 study published in the Journal of Managerial Psychology concluded, “Regular exercise is positively correlated with leadership performance… Regular exercise may, in fact, improve leadership performance.” Dr. Cedric Bryant, the Chief Science Officer for the American Council on Exercise, cites, “A nine-month study of 80 executives showed that exercisers experienced a 22% increase in fitness and a 70% improvement in ability to make complex decisions compared to sedentary peers.”
This is a classic case of the science catching up to what we have experienced anecdotally for decades. On his podcast, Tim Ferris states, “If I think back on the hundreds of interviews on this podcast, whether it’s Bob Iger in the world of business heading Disney, or an athlete or otherwise; If you look at the people who have really performed at a high level for decades, weight training seems to be one of the constants.” And biographer Ron Chernow takes us back nearly 150 years as he describes John D. Rockefeller’s obsession with exercise and his commitment to build Standard Oil around his personal workouts. In this way, Rockefeller was ahead of his time.
More recently writings from, Bonnie Heyden Chang, in a 2023 Harvard Business Review article, outlines the acute effects of our workout on our performance at work. She summarizes, “We found that daily physical activity generated a package of next-day resources, called ‘resource caravans,’ that contributed to work-related outcomes.” These include improved sleep quality, increased vigor and vitality, and enhanced task focus (information processing, attention, and concentration).
Take Action:
If you are a manager or leader, create a work environment where employees have time to complete their workouts. Strive to cultivate a culture where the workout is a part of the job.
Build your workouts into your calendar and protect them. This will benefit you and also model the behavior for the rest of the team.
A little goes a long way: One strength workout per week and one intense, short cardio session can reap profound benefit.
