Heads up workaholics. Having a social life just got more important. In fact, it could save your life, according to Co.Exist writer Ben Schiller. Burning the midnight oil at work and shunning play dates has the equivalent lifespan impact of smoking 15 cigarettes a day…or being a raging alcoholic. So not only is an all work, no play focus bad for employee engagement & innovation, it rips right to the core of employee health and mortality.
Go Be Social! (In the flesh that is…)
The research is based on a Brigham Young University meta-analysis of 148 previously published studies which looked at how often people interacted and their health outcomes. The results are pretty damning. Cutting yourself off from others is not only worse than inactivity, it is twice as bad on your health as obesity. Social relationships are as important to your health and wellbeing as other serious risk factors.
Straight up, happy, healthy and engaged people impact your business’s bottom-line. As demonstrated by a sweeping study by the Gallop Organization, personal wellbeing is directly linked to employee engagement and improved business results. And Forbes has amply demonstrated that it is employee engagement that is the fuel for extraordinary service, sales, quality, safety, retention, profit and shareholder returns.
So unless you’re craving an early date with a marble slab, why not take a break, call a friend and go grab a coffee?
