It’s that time of year again. Having acknowledged the passing of the old year and rung in the new, we look ahead to what the next 12 months will hold and, in many cases, make promises to ourselves about the changes we will make and the goals we will pursue.
Underlying many of those New Year Resolutions is an ambition to improve our physical and mental health, with an estimated one in six people (17%) aiming to get fit or exercise more. This is closely followed by 16% who say they want to lose weight and 7% who are simply looking to ‘be healthier’.
The personal benefits of following a more health-conscious lifestyle are widely accepted, as are the benefits that worker wellbeing can bring to employers, from increased productivity to enhanced organisational effectiveness. But equally, it is acknowledged that those who make pledges to lead healthier, happier lives can struggle to sustain their New Year motivation levels, and others won’t prioritise wellbeing at all.
So, what can employers do to encourage a healthy mindset among employees? What are the psychological factors at play and how can companies address them to create a health-conscious culture?
Understanding motivating forces
In seeking answers to these complex questions, it can help to take a step back and consider how motivation works. Put simply, motivation is the force that drives and guides our choices and behaviours. Generally speaking, it can be separated into two distinct types: intrinsic motivation, which describes doing something for personal reasons, and extrinsic motivation, which describes doing something because of outside factors, such as the promise of some kind of reward.
Experts have also identified that motivation is made up of three underlying elements: activation, persistence and intensity. Activation describes the decision to initiate a particular behaviour and, for many, is synonymous with motivation itself. However, researchers suggest this should also be balanced with an appetite to overcome obstacles (persistence) and a conscious degree of application (intensity) for motivation to be sustained and goals to be achieved.
Good intentions
In the modern world, there are plenty of reasons for these elements to fall out of balance, compromising our ability to become, or stay, motivated. According to one survey, more than a third (35%) of people put their failure to follow through on good intentions of living more healthily down to simply ‘feeling too tired’.
Other barriers mentioned by survey respondents include lack of time, cited by 26%, as well as work/life balance and the cost of exercising, both cited by 25%.
For employers that are keen to support workers in adopting a more health-conscious mindset, the challenge is therefore one of both helping address such barriers as well as providing the right kind of opportunities for engagement. Both of these elements should be considered within a programme of health-based benefits in order to maximise motivation levels.
Finding enjoyment
When it comes to exercise, research from the US has shown that social interaction can be a powerful tool in encouraging activity levels. The study observed an increase in motivation levels and active behaviours among those leading more sedentary lifestyles when they interacted with regular exercisers.
Experts suggest such findings can be attributed to the accountability that comes with more social forms of exercise that involve colleagues or friends. And better still if those activities are enjoyable.
Indeed, separate research has found that fun is the motivational factor that has the most positive effect on participants’ mental health, making it a major influence on whether an individual sustains the motivation to be physically active. In essence, if people are able to choose an activity that is genuinely enjoyable, they can derive direct pleasure from the experience itself and are more likely to stick with it.
Earning rewards, building habits
This finding hints at the link between short-term thinking and sustained motivation. Despite the frequent focus on overarching long-term goals or outcomes, such as specific weight-loss targets, there is evidence of the power of immediate incentives in encouraging active behaviours.
One US study points to the use of daily reminders, points-based rewards and financial incentives as effective ways of encouraging activity levels and building positive long-term behaviours.
And, contrary to what might be assumed, it has been found that small, regular rewards can be more effective than large, occasional rewards when it comes to habit-forming behaviours, particularly if the recipient feels they are earning or unlocking them through their efforts.
Such findings underline the challenge that companies face in promoting a healthy mindset among their staff. Presenting employees with a toolbox of health-based benefits is part of the solution, but it is really only by fostering a culture and environment that makes physical activities social, fun and rewarding that employers can maximise the chances of maintaining motivation levels and sustaining engagement among a healthy, happy, high-performing workforce.
The information contained within this communication does not constitute financial advice and is provided for general information purposes only. No warranty, whether express or implied is given in relation to such information. Vintage Health or any of its associated representatives shall not be liable for any technical, editorial, typographical or other errors or omissions within the content of this communication.
