Research shows that loving your job will actually help you to live a longer, healthier life.
They say “if you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life”. But research now shows that loving your job will actually help you to live a longer, healthier life too.
And within the Ethicaljobs.com.au community, our last survey showed that people already working in the not-for-profit sector were about one-third more likely to love the work they do, compared to those working in the private sector.
So if you’re looking for that dream ethical job, here are five reasons why your future self will thank you for not giving up or settling for something else
Happiness
If you spend eight of the best hours of your day doing something you enjoy, you’re bound to be happier. And, this happiness can lead to a longer life span.
Researchers from the University College of London
studied 11,000 people aged 50+ over almost ten years. They asked participants to rate their happiness four times a day and also took saliva samples.
They found that the study participants who rated themselves the happiest were 35 percent less likely to die within the next five years as opposed to those who felt less positive.
Social Connections
Doing a job that makes you feel good gives you the confidence and motivation to connect with other people. In turn, connecting with other people gives you great social support and, according to research, can help you live longer.
Researchers at Brigham Young University and the University of North Carolina
found that people with higher levels of social support, regardless of their age, have a 50 percent lower mortality rate than people who are less socially connected.
Sense of purpose
People who work in ethical jobs often do so because they’re looking to work in a job with meaning and purpose.
Recent research analysed the health and wellbeing of volunteers and found that people who volunteer for altruistic reasons – that is because they want to help others – were likely to live longer than those who didn’t volunteer.
Less stress
research from Finland found that work-related stress has a physical impact on our DNA.
It’s a little complex, but essentially the research found that participants with severe exhaustion caused by work had shorter leukocyte telomeres
a part of your DNA which can predict your lifespan (longer ones usually mean a longer lifespan) and age-related disease (shorter ones mean more disease as you age).
That’s not to say that ethical jobs are stress-free, but doing something you love should be less stressful than going to a job that you hate, and that gives you no fulfilment or sense of purpose.
Less boredom
The Canadian Medical Association says:
“Mental alertness is fundamental to living the best possible life.”
Being mentally challenged in your job will not only keep you alert and excited in your current job, it will also help to keep your brain sharp as you age.
Given that the life expectancy of people with Alzheimers’ is significantly reduced, keeping mentally stimulated at work could help you to ultimately live longer too.
This post is based on an article that originally appeared on Inc.com