Rather than skipping exercise to dedicate more hours to work, Perth business leaders say working out as the sun rises makes them more productive.
Rather than skipping exercise to dedicate more hours to work, Perth business leaders say working out as the sun rises makes them more productive.
Climbing the corporate ladder can require a level of drive, discipline and determination comparable to that shown by elite athletes in their pursuit of excellence.
So it should come as no surprise that many successful business leaders have a little bit of the athlete in them, regularly breaking into a sweat not long after sunrise.
Take Susanne Guy, a partner at Perth Radiological Clinic.
The 42-year-old mother of two is up at 4:30am and 30 minutes later is out on the Swan River rowing with a crew of seven other women. She’ll be out there for two hours before heading back home to rush through the morning chores – including getting the children ready for school – and then in to the clinic for a full day of work.
Or Dale Alcock, who gets up at 5am to swim laps before heading to work at 7:30am.
Then of course there is Perth’s cycling fraternity. On any given Tuesday, a group of at least 50 cyclists gathers under The Narrows for a 50 kilometre-plus ride before a day in the office.
Among those to don the lycra of a morning are outgoing Doric chief executive Peter Iancov, Thiess project director Adrian Matthews, and AngoGold Ashanti’s engineering manager for the Tropicana project, Hugh Beveridge.
While slim waistlines and lean physiques may be front and centre of most people’s motivation to exercise, these business leaders are also seeking alternative benefits.
On the ball
Research by Leeds Metropolitan University professor of physical activity and health, Jim McKenna, has confirmed the theory that simply pounding the pavement can improve workplace performance.
A study of more than 200 white-collar professionals in south-west England confirmed that, on days those workers exercised, their mood and performance improved, which led to better concentration, work-based relationships and a heightened resilience to stress.
Furthermore, 72 per cent of individuals reported improvement in managing time demands, 79 per cent in mental-interpersonal performance and 74 per cent in managing output demands.
Professor McKenna says what the results show is that physical activity can lead to a significant improvement in an individual worker’s productivity and that of workplaces as a whole.
“Employees can positively affect their work performance by exercising, or they can choose to have a less powerful workplace performance by not exercising,” he says.
It’s this benefit of improved cognitive function and overall energy that Perth’s physically active business leaders say is a key motivation for sacrificing an extra couple of hours sleep.
“On days that I row I have very high energy levels very early on and that lasts me right through until about four o’clock,” Dr Guy says.
“I must admit I do have a bit of a lull then (around 4pm) since I’ve been up since 4:30am, but I have a cup of tea and an apple and then I’m back into it again.
“The days that I don’t row I don’t have that same energy buzz … I just feel that I’m a little bit sluggish, and I just don’t feel like I’ve achieved that personal goal by the end of the day.”
Keen cyclist Adrian Matthews agrees. He began cycling after taking part in triathlons and some days can clock up to 75km.
While such a commitment could be a drain on Mr Matthews’ energy levels in his role as project director for Thiess on the Gorgon project, he finds the opposite to be the case.
“You have the exercise done in the morning and you’re energised for the rest of the day, so I actually find that on the days that I don’t ride I’m worse off rather than better off,” Mr Matthews says.
A third-generation builder and managing director of the ABN Group, Mr Alcock has a slightly different perspective on what benefit an hour of swimming three to four mornings a week has on his career.
Having started his working life as a bricklayer in 1979, Mr Alcock knows all too well the negative impacts such physical work can have on the body.
He credits his exercise regime, which includes regular stretching, for his good health and lack of muscular problems.
“From my days being on the tools as a bricklayer I’ve always kept pretty fit and pretty healthy,” Mr Alcock says.
“I think when you work long hours and also when you are at the level of business that I’m engaged in you really appreciate having a certain level of fitness; I think it helps you cope with the demands.”
Like many business leaders Mr Alcock has a hectic work schedule, but says making exercise part of the routine is the secret to it becoming a habit.
“If you’re in that rhythm of getting up and doing it and it’s working, if you don’t do it for a couple of days you really miss not doing it,” Mr Alcock says.
“It almost becomes a bridge too wide to get over if you just leave it and leave it.”
Time out
The pendulum swings the other way, too, with exercise credited as an escape from the stresses of demanding workloads.
Anglo Gold Ashanti’s Mr Beveridge regularly cycles to work from his home in the Perth hills to avoid the public transport crush.
“It takes 45-50 minutes irrespective of how I come to work, but cycling gives me a chance to think about what I’ve got on for the day and knock the stresses out,” Mr Beveridge says.
Dr Guy says the same about her twice-weekly rowing commitments.
“For me rowing is not only about physical health but also about mental health,” she says.
“I call it my zen moment – being out on the water and watching the dolphins and the sunrise, it’s what I need to clear my mind before I go to work.”
Taking the lead
With such positive productivity results coming from regular exercise it seems there are plenty of reasons for organisations to encourage physical activity among staff.
Putting that into practice is another story, however.
While Mr Alcock has no qualms about getting out of bed at 5am each day, instilling the same enthusiasm in staff to facilitate improved workplace productivity is not as easy.
“I think you’ve got to be careful about not being too preachy on some of these things; I think it’s your own journey. I’m very self-driven and I don’t need someone to push me along,” Mr Alcock says.
“I think everybody’s motivation is different as well so I don’t think it’s one size fits all.”
Doric’s Mr Iancov agrees. He took up cycling to raise money for the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research in this this year’s 200km Sunsuper Ride to Conquer Cancer.
Now, six days a week Mr Iancov, who has spent five years in the chief executive chair at Doric, can be found either in the gym or on his bike for at least 90 minutes as a course of habit.
He says staff members have picked up on his increased energy and improved concentration and he encourages them when they report taking up a new activity. But he draws the line at pushing the benefits of physical exercise on workplace productivity.
“It’s not something that you can put into place with a policy, you have to have people buy in, and when you have buy in then it becomes cultural but we’re not there yet,” Mr Iancov says.
Dr Guy says leading by example is the best way to encourage staff to get active.
Many would assume the medical profession would be a prime candidate for the most fit and healthy workplace award, but Dr Guy says that’s not the case in her experience.
“I think there’s an unwritten assumption that doctors and nurses look after themselves but they don’t … and if you take a walk and a look around the staff areas in some hospitals there’s no promotion of being healthy at work at all,” she says.
“Walk down the concourse at Royal Perth Hospital and you’ve got options like burgers and chips and staff stuffing their faces in front of patients; I just don’t agree with that at all.
“I think if you’re greeted by an obese nurse and a fat doctor that’s really quite shocking.
“We need to be leading by example about what healthy living actually is.”
Mr Iancov says despite the role exercise can play in achieving productivity improvements, making the commitment can be difficult for some white-collar professionals.
“It’s very easy to slide into an unfit lifestyle; work pressures are always there and it’s a stressful environment for everybody … it’s very easy to look at your workload and not be able to separate time,” he says.
“People see it as beneficial, but we’re not pushing it hard enough.”
