A lot of people are probably coming to realization that they will have to be getting into a bathing suit soon and they aren’t exactly happy about it. Lots of folks have probably put on a few pounds during the colder months, and it seems a lot of folks are blaming that extra weight on their jobs.
According to a new CareerBuilder survey, 56% of workers say they are overweight and 45% believe their job is the reason for it. Overall, 25% of workers gained more than 10 pounds at their current job, while 10% gained more than 20.
So, what is causing all this extra job-related weight gain? Well, the biggest reasons include:
Sitting at a desk most of the day (51%)
Too tired from work to exercise (45%)
Eating because of stress (38%)
No time to exercise before or after work (38%)
Eating out regularly (24%)
Having to skip meals because of time constraints (19%)
Workplace celebrations (18%)
The temptation of the office candy jar (16%)
Pressure to eat food co-workers bring in (8%)
Happy hours (4%)
As for who's bearing the brunt, workers in Houston are the most likely to blame weight gain on their job (57%), followed by Washington, DC (50%) and Boston, Los Angeles and Dallas (47%). As for industries, those in the financial services are the most likely to say they’ve gained weight because of work (57%), followed by healthcare, transportation and sales (50%).
But it’s not as though some companies aren’t trying to help their employees. The survey finds that 28% of employees say their company offers some sort of wellness benefit, but only 63% of those people take advantage of them. Meanwhile, 64% of people say their employers offer no benefits, but if they did, 42% of those people would use them.
Source: The Business Journal