When your temples are pulsing, you’ve lost motivation, and you can’t seem to focus, you might just be reaching the point of burnout at work. We’ve all been there sitting at our desks, head in hands, frozen in a moment of overwhelm. It can creep in over weeks or days or crash down like a tidal wave in an instant.
Most of us are looking for ways to reduce burnout at work and boost creativity and productivity. It turns out exercise might just be one way to do it. We can exercise more often than we can take a vacation, so it’s worth knowing if exercise really can help us diminish that dreaded state of overwhelm at work. Let’s look at the recent research.
The study
In a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the researchers assessed the work life and exercise habits of over 500 employees. They wanted to determine if physical activity affected job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion.
Study author and research scientist Michele Wolf Marenus shared that the researchers were inspired by the uptick in employer-provided exercise opportunities like fitness facilities and how more employers are now encouraging employees to be more active.
The study methods
520 full-time employees filled out surveys about their physical activity habits and their job-related stresses. Moderate physical activity was defined as either:
- Performing 20 minutes or more of vigorous physical activity for at least three days, such as running.
- Performing 30 minutes or longer of moderate physical activity like strength training, hiking, or dancing, for at least five days.
- Performing a combination of the two for at least five days.
The researchers categorized the participants into low, medium, and high-activity groups and considered three aspects of burnout: personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization. Depersonalization refers to when employees no longer see customers as human beings.
The results
Encouraging physical activity impacts more than physical health. The results showed that moderate exercise can reduce work burnout. Interestingly, high-intensity activity didn’t reduce burnout any more than lower levels of exercise, so you don’t necessarily need to ‘go to town’ with a high-intensity workout to see these results.
This study showed that the participants who reported performing moderate levels of exercise felt the most personally accomplished and the least emotionally exhausted. The depersonalization scores were similar across all three groups. This study had some limitations, such as self-reported data and fewer than 1,000 participants. Nonetheless, it makes sense that employees who engaged in moderate exercise experienced less burnout at work. Most experts recommend a mix of high-intensity and moderate workouts for the best results.
How does exercise help to reduce job burnout?
While you might not think you have the time to exercise and that taking that time away from work could hamper your productivity, it’s more likely to be the opposite. Stepping away from the daily grind to get your muscles moving could boost your mood and sharpen your brain and your memory, so you’re more productive when you get back to work.
Exercise releases feel-good endorphins and provides a much-needed break from sitting or even standing at your desk. One study showed that walking for an hour or running for just 15 minutes a day reduces the risk of major depression. You’ll boost cardiovascular health, fitness, endurance, and more.
