The Health Benefits of working in construction vs an office job

It’s no surprise that most of the developed world have issues relating to health, in particular being overweight or even obese.

So what are the main causes of this?

Two of the largest contributing factors are poor diets and not getting enough exercise. So what’s the difference between someone who constantly eats well and exercises regularly vs people who maintain an average to poor diet and rarely even break a sweat? The answer is habits.

Your daily habits reflect to the world an image of your body.

Changing your daily, weekly and monthly habits even slowly will have gradual but certain effect on your body. One of the largest most ingrained habits we have or do today is the type of work we participate in week in and week out.

Let’s look at the standard daily habits of two of the most common types of work in today’s society: office jobs vs construction/manual labourers.

As soon as a construction worker gets to work they are moving their body in many ways such as lifting materials, climbing flights of stairs, carrying different objects of all shapes and sizes and using different tools. This has a profound positive impact on both the body and on and the mind especially if done consistently over time.

It must be mentioned though that not lifting correctly or wearing the correct protective footwear can cause strains and injuries.

Office workers on the other hand are seated in one spot at their desk staring downwards, usually at a computer screen and are lucky to move there entire bodies every 1-2 hours.

Consistently physically moving actually has great impacts on the stress levels stored in your body. Moving allows the releasing of endorphins which in tern lubricates the whole body including the brain and helps make you think clearly and act with good decision skills.

Endorphins also allow chemicals which produce ‘good feelings’ to circulate through the bloodstream on a regular basis. This is how the body was supposed to act and be used.

Alternatively sitting in a stationary sitting position can actually build stress because of it’s stagnate state and lack of movement. This gives the body no way to naturally release these endorphins and can cause negative effects on main parts of the body over time.

If you add up the hours an average office worker is sitting at their desk per week in equates to well over 40 hours. That’s a minimum of 40 hours per week less body movement and exercise than a construction worker, unless that construction worker is in the office working on a construction takeoff all day.

We know exercise helps move the muscles and bones which is another essential part of keeping healthy but how does it aid in weight loss?

By keeping your body ‘spending’ energy all day with constant movement at work it helps maintain a healthy body weight and can also help with overeating issues too.

If you’re already work in construction in your line of work you’ll know that eating food that is high in nutrients is important to fuel yourself. Making sure your body has an ample amount of the right foods is must if you want to perform for long periods on the job.

Constantly on the move all day also means your feet and footwear are going to take a beating. To maintain healthy feet in your boots you’ll need to have the best anti fatigue insoles to keep you working all day with happy feet.

Keeping hydrated is another important aspect. One of the most effective ways to do this is to simply keep water at a close proximity at all times and remember to drink regularly.

The benefits of keeping your body active all day can greatly outweigh sitting at a desk stationary. Just keep in mind that you must take care of yourself with the correct foods, workwear and to keep hydrated. If you are going to work in a office seated for long periods remember to take regular breaks and get up and move your whole body as much as possible.