According to the latest study from CV-Library,
the UK’s leading independent job board, 29.1% of the UK workforce state that
their job has led them to gain weight, indicating a wider issue among many
professions.
The survey of 1,200 UK professionals further found that as
well as the more obvious health issues, of those who indicate that their job
has caused them to lose weight a massive majority of 75.7% also admit that this
has led to a decrease in happiness. This has a knock-on effect not only on
their health and quality of life, but also their performance in regards to the
company.
Of the reasons cited by respondents for weight gain at work,
the top five causes were found to be:
- Sitting at a desk all day (50.1%)
- Working long days that don’t leave time to fit in exercise (40.8%)
- Snacking a lot at work (40.3%)
- Eating more due to stress at work (31.2%)
- Colleagues bringing in unhealthy snacks to share (28%)
“While it can be tricky, as ultimately the lifestyle choices
of your employees are out of your hands, try to encourage healthy habits. Walk
or cycle to work schemes are always a great way to get help staff fit in
exercise around their working day. What’s more, inexpensive perks like healthy
snacks and team lunches, or discounted gym membership are positive ways to
encourage your staff to look after themselves. After all, unhealthy and unhappy
staff are going to be less motivated, and as a result, less productive.”
Weight gain is of course far from the only thing
compromising the overall happiness of the UK workforce, as evidenced by the 53.3%
of respondents who revealed that there are other aspects of their job that made
them feel unhappy. These include; feeling overworked (32.5%), a poor
work-life balance (22.1%), poor company culture (20.1%), long commutes (19.1%),
and a general dislike of daily tasks (18.5%).
Reassuringly it does appear that these unhappy employees are
doing what they can in an effort to counteract these issues. 81.8% of those who
reported being unhappy with aspects of their job insist that they do take a
proactive approach to making themselves feel better, with 63.1% turning to colleagues,
18.7% taking regular breaks and 12% browsing social media in an effort to
unwind.
Mr Biggins concluded by saying, “We spend a lot of our time
at work, so it’s important that our job makes us happy. While it’s good to see
that some professionals are taking positive steps to make themselves feel
better at work, if they’re suffering from a poor work-life balance, long
commutes or are working somewhere that has a poor culture, it’s unlikely that
regular breaks or browsing Facebook will solve the problem in the long term.
Plus these are costly solutions from a business perspective, who could be
losing hours from employees browsing social media or stopping to chat.
“Instead, if you recognise that a member of the team seems
unhappy, arrange a meeting to sit down and discuss what’s bothering them. This
will help you to nip it in the bud right away. What’s more, work hard to create
a fun and creative company culture, where staff get along, but also feel they
can approach you if they’re experiencing any problems.”
Sam Bonson
Sam is an aspiring novelist with a passion for fantasy and crime thrillers. He is currently working as a content writer, journalist & editor as he continues to expand his horizons.
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