| Kippreport.com

Regular exercise = pay rise?

June 11, 2012 5:33 by Eva Fernandes

When it comes to getting fit, this Kipper knows all the excuses.

I don’t have enough time: I stay late at work and come in early–exercising would take time away from my job. Anyway, it is too hot to go out for a walk. You think I should join a gym? Well, have you checked the price of gym memberships here in the UAE? I will need a second job just to break even from an investment like that.

If you know someone like me, then here is some much needed ammo to get them off the couch. Why not quote the findings of a study which found those who exercise regularly earn 9 percent more than those who don’t.

Published in the June issue of the Journal of Labor Research, Vasilios Kosteas of Cleveland State University, has put forth the argument that those who exercise on a regular basis tend to get paid higher. We are talking about a difference of anywhere from 6 to 10 percent compared to those who don’t work out. The study found while doing moderate exercise had a positive impact on one’s salary, but the best results were displayed by those who exercised on a frequent basis. Interestingly, the study found that even those that do not exercise at all tend to get a pay boost when they start exercising on a regular basis.

Kosteas has said follow up studies are required to confirm his findings and of course, it bears noting the finding is merely a correlation. But if I was pushed to find some kind of causation between the two, I’d say it probably boils down to discipline. Perhaps those employees that have a regular schedule tend to be more regimented at the gym and the work place. Or maybe having to leave for the gym at 6 every evening makes workers prioritize and become more productive.

Either way, the study does provide some food for thought…if it is the thought of the time away from work and the mounds of money you will be spending on a membership which is keeping you from the gym-well, you might just have to think again.