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College degree? Check. Professional resume? Double check. Perfect health? Ah, not so fast. What does your health have to do with your career? Plenty. Besides having the right skills and qualifications for your profession, you may also want to make sure you’re healthy—if you want to get ahead financially, that is. A recent study published in the British Medical Journal showed that the healthier you are, the richer you are. Researchers found that healthy employees are more productive at work, earn more and spend more time in the workforce because they take fewer sick days. Employees in poor health, on the other hand, are more likely to be out of work for extended periods of time or forced into early retirement—two factors that reduce overall earning potential. Research conducted by Professor Martin McKee and his colleagues at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine yielded similar results. They found that an employee's salary is dependent on some seemingly unconnected factors, such as height. Taller people earn more than those of average height. Apparently your adult height reflects your overall childhood health—meaning the healthier you were as a kid, the taller you are as an adult. The High Cost of Poor Health Employers have long recognized that healthy employees cost less. Absenteeism due to sickness (related to obesity and inactivity) is expensive and employers are now convinced that good employee health saves money in the end. Sedentary employees spend 30 percent more days in the hospital than exercisers and the severely overweight are 48 percent more likely to have yearly medical claims of more than $5,000. Obesity currently costs U.S. employers more than $13 billion each year in lost productivity and sick days. Fair or not, the size of your waistline is a threat to your career and being significantly overweight can even impact your ability to find a good job. Several studies have shown a pervasive discrimination against overweight employees—especially women—who are less likely to get promoted than their skinnier peers. Other research suggests that overweight employees are paid less than thinner ones, regardless of education and experience. Good Health Pays Off Along with taking fewer sick days, a healthy employee is more apt to demonstrate leadership characteristics, such as creativity and energy. This vibrancy is reflected in how leaders speak with customers, employees and investors. People naturally prefer to follow someone who is confident and energetic—two positive outcomes of living a healthy lifestyle. According to a survey conducted by TheLadders.com, 75 percent of responding executives felt that good physical fitness was critical for career success at the executive level. The same number of respondents also felt that being overweight was a serious career impediment. Gone are the days of liquid lunches and cigars for corporate managers. Continued › |
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Health & Wellness Articles › Weight MaintenanceAre You Fit to Climb the Corporate Ladder?Healthy Body, Healthier Paycheck-- By Leanne Beattie, Health & Fitness WriterSparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more
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Leanne Beattie
A freelance writer, marketing consultant and life coach, Leanne often writes about health and nutrition. See all of Leanne's articles. |
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Member Comments
It's hard enough being a woman banging on the glass ceiling, but having to look like a model while doing it? Really hard!
I'd also contest the managers=fit assumption stated in the article. Might be that the public figurehead fits that image, but I can almost guarantee that the behind-the-scenes powerbrokers are just a little paunchy and even worse in their regard of other humans than the fronts. At least from my experience and not inconsiderable observed sample size they are- as long as you're white, male, and your family name carries some significance your chances of getting in are a lot higher than even the smart model's.
The tall thing is true, though. I'm just a smidgeon taller than average (5'7"), and always accentuate it with the highest heels I can wear but most of the "men in charge" easily top 6' and would tower over me.
All in all, a depressing reminder of everyday life, if painted with slightly rose-colored glasses on. - 1/16/2013 11:59:37 AM
re, they are coming up with plan designs whereby the overweight person pays more! This reduces the cost to company and the insurance company. My belief... if the company presently does not look at weight as a deciding promotional factor - when the insurance companies divide people into pools, it may end up being more of a deciding factor... - 2/13/2011 1:19:08 PM
- 1/13/2011 11:35:09 AM
I teach psychology at the Royal Military College of Canada and I am a Major in the Army. I agree with you. I see it every day around me. In my occupation, it is very important to be fit and in return it makes you more productive. Being fit doesn't mean being a certain weight but being able to run, walk and perform certain physical tasks. AND it means taking care of yourself, psychologically. As a leader, I want my actions to reflect what I believe in and I want to be a good example for my students (Officer Cadets). My greatest reward is a thank you because at some point - just by doing what I call my job - a made a difference in someone's life! - 12/19/2010 9:24:24 AM
First, authority makes people more likely to be critical of others and less likely to be critical of themselves. This makes me distrust the executives' opinion that physical fitness is important for success. They want their employees to be healthy so they cost less to employ; I bet a lot of them aren't healthy themselves.
Second, the article confounds correlation with causation, and sees the correlation only from the healthy = successful standpoint. If we're going to draw inappropriate conclusions from the correlation, how about concluding that successful = healthy, due to increased access to education and resources? This is the way the thing is usually spun. Successful people are more likely to have a culture of exercise and healthful food, as well as greater access to gyms, health education, and health care. - 1/11/2010 10:30:56 AM
;) - 1/2/2010 9:37:36 AM
In my experience in the corporate world, the bias against short men is every bit as strong as the bias against women, however, it's mush easier for a man to overcome this bias by being aggressive.
At 5'7", I certainly qualify as being short. However, playing corporate softball and being an expert in handling the bat made me a perfect lead-off. At the end of the season I was batting .811. The next closest was .640.
I disagree that taller people are able to relate to customers better or to be better leaders. I found that my height made it easier to interact with customers because my size was not threatening. As for performance, as a unit manager I was given the nickname of "The plumber". Why? Because I was sent in to clean up a store, get the maximum performance out of existing employees, interview and hire better quality people with positive attitudes and to get double digit increases in sales. As a generality, I agree with you. A height challenged person needs to take every opportunity to show they are the better candidate for promotion, and by at least a two digit performance.
I never thought of this before, but maybe this is one of the things that places women at a disadvantage in the corporate world, also. Most higher level, female executives I've been acquainted with are considerably taller than the average woman. - 11/14/2009 5:14:39 PM