by Beatriz Béjar Fernández, health psychologist specializing in children, trauma and attachment.
Work stress is one of the collective phenomena that we face in the workplace and that generates a lot of interest, taking into account its incidence, since it is one of the most frequent problems in the working population, and can affect any employee, from any field and any profession.
Stress at work has consequences on both physical and mental health, it also has effects on performance, productivity, attention span or absenteeism, among others; causing demotivation or anxiety, since our physiological balance or homeostasis is affected.
Therefore… What can we do to prevent it? This is an aspect that we must not ignore, to which both bosses, businessmen and workers must pay attention.
In this article we will deal with the benefits that sport has on this problem, in addition to other preventive measures that you can adopt against work stress, since it is a problem that is increasing both in incidence and intensity.
Benefits of physical activity
There are many people who only associate exercise with physical well-being, especially in the aspect related to weight control. However, this practice is essential to also promote our mental health:
- It favors our digestion, since it benefits our intestinal transit, speeds up the digestive process, reducing the risk of constipation and the stress caused by the different digestive symptoms in some people.
- It has benefits in our immune system, since it strengthens it and this causes us to present fewer infections, by generating changes in antibodies and white blood cells. In addition, it helps reduce the secretion of stress hormones.
- It improves self-esteem, since by setting goals and achieving them, it makes us feel more capable, favoring self-confidence. On the other hand, physical exercise (together with a healthy lifestyle) generates physical changes. This makes us feel more satisfied when we see the evolution.
- When we exercise we release hormones called endorphins, also called “happiness hormones”, which help us forget about stress more easily. We also generate other neurotransmitters such as dopamine (which generates feelings of relaxation and pleasure) and serotonin (which favors the maintenance of our mood in balance).
- It favors social relations, since in the cases of exercising with other people it allows us to expand our social environment. Meeting more people helps us connect and distracts us, thus preventing us from focusing on negative thoughts.
It helps us to rest better, since it favors a deeper and more restful sleep after having exercised. - It promotes a better body posture because, by sitting too long, we round our backs. This can cause back pain, neck pain, even injuries. A better posture helps us avoid this type of discomfort.
- It helps improve our coordination, flexibility, speed, strength and our energy levels.
- It helps control diseases such as cholesterol or diabetes.
- Helps maintain a routine, which favors concentration, rest and increased motivation.
- Physical exercise also helps you relax and discover and develop new skills that can be used in other areas of life.
- For more physically demanding jobs, exercise will also maintain and increase endurance. Therefore, daily work can be carried out with less effort.
Physical activity in the workplace
In addition to the many benefits of physical activity in the personal sphere, exercise also has many advantages for the performance of the workday.
- It favors a better adaptation when facing stressful situations.
- It increases our concentration, since when exercising, our blood flow increases. Having greater flow of oxygenated blood to the brain (better oxygenation). Improve our memory and coordination.
- It boosts our motivation. By reducing stress, it favors our productivity. It does not need to be a long training session, with small exercise routines we can already obtain these benefits.
- Reduction of work absenteeism. Exercise has benefits on our immune system, which reduces health problems, especially in sedentary jobs. In the case of jobs with a high physical load, exercise helps release tension, preventing muscle problems and contractures from occurring. In short, it improves the state of health and quality of life of workers.
- Greater self-esteem is developed, which helps to face the daily challenges of work, since by achieving goals in sports, we feel satisfied and capable of handling any situation.
- The capacity for action also increases, because during exercise we get used to acting quickly, so we respond faster to challenges.
- The mind is also capable of producing more creative responses. Especially if you practice a sport that requires divergent thinking.
- If the sport practiced, in addition, is in a group, the person learns to work as a team since all members seek the same goal. This is extremely beneficial for the workplace, because currently, to achieve results, the coordinated work of all the members of a department is needed.
- They reduce the tensions that the work environment generates in us on numerous occasions, which facilitates a better rest and that we can relativize certain problems and concerns of our daily life.
Currently, we have normalized living with high levels of stress and, in the case of work stress, it is a problem that only increases. What’s more, if we don’t pay attention to it and it continues over time, it will end up becoming an obstacle both to people’s quality of life and to the growth of organizations.
Taking this into account and the benefits of physical activity, some companies promote physical activity programs. These spaces are called “active pauses”. In them the employees carry out activities that allow them to reduce the tension of overwork such as stretching and relaxation.
However, it is a measure that is not too widespread. For this reason, policies for the promotion, development, maintenance of health and physical condition are fundamental, since these have consequences both at the individual level and at the organizational level.
In short, physical exercise is the best ally to strengthen our immune system, it gives us the opportunity to defend ourselves against stressors and factors. In fact, there are several studies that indicate that people who exercise have a better response when facing stressful situations, so it is important to maintain healthy physical and mental activity on a sustained basis.
Bibliography:
- Work stress (insst.es).
- Exercise and immunity: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.
- Chronic work stress and its consequences for the health of workers | UGT – Observatory of Psychosocial Risks (observatorioriesgospsicosociales.com).