All work, no exercise for IT employees
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UK IT employees are among the unhealthiest in the country, with under a fifth getting the recommended amount of exercise
IT workers get the least exercise of any profession in the UK, according to research by a fitness training agency.
Fewer than one in five people with IT-related jobs said that they met the level of exercise recommended by the government – half an hour’s moderate exercise five times a week.
The diet of the IT workforce is not much better – only 14% of IT workers polled by Fat Free Fitness said they eat five items of fruit or vegetables a day.
It will come as little surprise to anyone who has spent any time in the IT department that IT workers had the largest caffeine consumption out of any profession, with an equivalent average daily intake of ten cups of coffee. Half the IT professionals surveyed admitted to consuming at least one energy drink every day.
Fat Free Fitness founder Rich Leigh blamed IT workers’ inactive lifestyle on their sedentary profession. “There is clearly a correlation between sitting at a desk or wheel all day and how active you’re likely to be,” he said.
Leigh proposed that employers should encourage their staff to lead healthier lives on the basis that it would minimise sick leave. “A study by the Physical Activity Taskforce in 2003 found that physically active employees take 27% fewer days of sick leave, meaning that the benefits for employers far outweigh the relatively low effort needed to tackle the issue,” he said. “A healthier national workforce would undoubtedly equal a healthier British economy.”
However, another study suggests that businesses get plenty of work time out of their employees in the IT department.
A poll by a discount website found that IT staff were most likely of all to be working over the Christmas period, with 53% of IT workers due to be on call on Christmas Day itself – more than workers in the emergency services.
“The majority of companies couldn’t operate without the maintenance provided by in-house and agency IT workers,” said the site’s founder, Mark Pearson, “and the sad fact is that many companies will also need them on standby throughout the festive period to ensure that all runs smoothly.”
Still, that workload might keep them away from the leftover turkey.
