Feeling worn out from work? You’re not alone. While modern organizations aim for economic success, it often comes at a cost to employees’ physical well-being. Work can directly or indirectly lead to tiredness, stress, lack of sleep, and unhealthy eating. This global trend is making the workforce more overweight and prone to illnesses.

A new study from Singapore Management University looks at the balance between economic productivity and physical fitness. It uncovers a hidden cost tied to low physical fitness—deviant behavior. Deviance means purposefully breaking the rules at work or in society, harming the organization and the community. It’s widespread, increasing, and causes efficiency problems for organizations.

In the US, the costs linked to one type of deviant behavior—employee theft—are huge. The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates it at up to $40 billion each year. That’s nearly ten times the cost of all street crimes combined, like burglaries and robberies.

Loss of control

The researchers wanted to examine how big an influence exercise can have on our ability to control ourselves at work. It’s a concept referred to as ego depletion.

“The idea is that ego depletion can be thought of as a pool of self-control resources exhibiting some degrees of temporal stability,” the researchers explain. “Some people are, on average, more likely to be ego-depleted than others in general, as well as exhibiting significant variation over time, where people feel more depleted on some days than other days.”

The researchers argue that when our ego is depleted, we lose the self control to effectively regulate our resources and manage our behaviors, which increases the chances of doing something bad at work. This can be common in workplaces where stress and burnout are high.

Physically fit

“Physically fit individuals are less likely to engage in deviant behavior because they are more likely to build up their self-control capacity over time, such that they are better able to override desires or impulses to engage in deviant behavior,” the researchers explain.

“Physical activity involves a trade-off between short-term costs—such as time spent and physical discomfort—and long-term gains, such as physical health and self-control capacity. Overcoming the costs of physical activity and engaging in physical activity requires discipline and successful acts of self-control. Therefore, the more individuals engage in physical activity, the more likely they will build up their self-control capacity over time.”

Of course, few organizations actively invest in the physical wellbeing of staff, instead leaving it largely up to employees to manage for themselves. This is a mistake, especially as many factors of modern life, such as the cost of living pressures, can make it harder to maintain good physical fitness.

“In terms of practical implications of our findings, our research suggests that managers and organizations should not neglect employees’ physical fitness,” the researchers conclude.

“In particular, we hope that our research motivates organizations and economic systems to boost physical fitness among the less physically fit, as opposed to discriminating against such individuals. For example, organizations may sponsor initiatives or interventions that include health seminars, and corporate health and fitness clubs to encourage physical activity and healthy behaviors.”