Sunday, February 9, 2020

"How physical fitness can boost your career"/ "It's time to change how we hire young people"

May 5, 2018 "How physical fitness can boost your career": Today I found this article by Ivan Ho in the Globe and Mail:

Ivan Ho is co-founder of Fit Factory Fitness.


Fitness has changed over the years; it doesn’t start and stop at the gym, it goes beyond – from what you put into your body to developing good habits and more. To cater to those changing demands, business owners have implemented revolutionary training programs and incorporated diverse classes, in-house nutritionists and fuel bars to keep members engaged. 


Technology has also shifted the fitness market, making it easier to monitor your pace, heart rate, energy expenditure, and sleeping patterns with apps and trackers – all to not only keep you mindful, but accountable as well. 



Tech has also mimicked what gym spaces offer to clients – a sense of community. However, nothing beats a one-hour sweat session with a community of people that have a similar goal, where you can also feed off their energy to push you through. All this combined with new, evolving equipment revolutionizes workouts to deliver results and keep fitness exciting.


We’ve all heard about putting health first and everything else second, but how many of us truly understand this principle and live by it every day? With round-the-clock work schedules and the hustle and bustle of our metropolitan lifestyles, it’s important to consciously make health and fitness a priority. Treat your workout sessions as you would a work meeting – add them to your calendar, don’t skip them, and take 2-3 days out of the week to sweat it out. Great things only come with consistency.



The 180 Rule



When you think about fitness, you immediately think exercising, biking, running, or any other activity that makes you break a sweat. Fitness is much more than breaking a sweat; it’s a 180-degree change in your lifestyle. It helps improves both your mental and physical health.


Fitness also affects that way you think, breathe, speak, react to situations, digest food and more. It enhances the energy you put out into the universe. From cumbersome deadlines to client-facing tasks to on-the-go projects and more, you will see a difference in the way you execute tasks in all areas of your life. It’s all full-circle.


Mindfulness through fitness



When you exercise, it increases blood flow to the brain, making you more aware of your health overall. You’re more in tune with your emotions and generally more alert. This helps you understand what is upsetting or stressing you, and from there you can decide on next steps and how you will tackle it. 


This also applies to the workplace, and explains why we’ve seen corporations and even small businesses integrating team workouts into their training programs and company culture – it improves productivity, helps you appreciate discipline and plays a massive role within communities.

The scientific approach



When you exercise, your heart rate goes up, in turn increasing oxygen intake, which boosts your brain and organ function. Exercise releases endorphins or “happy hormones.”



Once you’ve had a great workout and exhausted your body, you need to refuel. Instead of filling your body with the nearest convenient food, you’re going to want vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to replenish the resources you used in your workout. 


Both of these complementary factors will ensure you sleep better at night and wake up feeling great (albeit just a little sore). You will go into work with better energy, find yourself feeling more productive, and even develop better posture.

Routine and long-term effects



Over time, staying fit will become part of a routine. As you start noticing a healthier, happier, motivated and more inspired self, the good habits become addictive. Then, in a domino effect, you will start looking at other areas of your life in which to improve. 


Maybe you pick up a new book to read or plan a hiking trip to Peru – the bucket list is endless! Gradually, you will become more knowledgeable and gain a bigger and better perspective on your life, career, and family because you’ve put health first. 


Age shouldn’t matter



Remember, it’s never too early or too late to start a fitness journey. Whether you are in your 20s or 60s – nothing can stop you if you put your mind to it. 


Being healthy not only allows you to do more with your family and friends in the present, but also helps pass on these healthy habits to your children, giving them a head start on a healthy lifestyle. 



Keeping your kids engaged and planning family activities for weekends helps strengthen the relationships that matter the most. 


At Fit Factory, we also are proud to host The Kids O Course – an educational health and fitness program for youth. It encourages kids to see the value of an active lifestyle while testing their mental and physical limits.


 "It's time to change how we hire young people": Today I found this article by Zabeen Hirji in the Globe and Mail:


The next generation is entering the work force at a time of profound change – economic, social, technological and demographic. While the desire to get a good first job remains the same, the path to get there will look different.


This generation deserves to realize their full potential, and our economy needs them to. The problem is that too many young people are being overlooked and left on the ground floor. Here in Canada, with almost 900,000 youth not in employment, education or training (sometimes called NEET), huge economic potential is being removed from our country.


As a society, we continue to invest in preparing young people for the work force, including those who face multiple barriers to employment. That said, many employers still aren’t able to attract and hire the talent they need, including for entry-level roles. In fact, 70 per cent of employers in a survey by CivicAction and the Human Resources Professionals Association say their biggest challenge to filling entry-level roles was finding applicants. How can we close that gap?




As someone who spent two decades in human resources, I learned that we need to continually evolve how and where we invest. It’s now time for a change if we want to connect young people to the opportunities we know exist, and do it at scale.


We found from our research and consultations at CivicAction that if all employers – small and large, private and public sector – refine their recruitment processes, we can start to bring in young people at scale into our work force where they will learn and contribute. This is especially true for those who have traditionally been left out of the labour market.




Why wouldn’t we? According to work by LeadersUp, companies that employ people who mirror their broad customer base are 45 per cent more likely to grow thanks to a better understanding of their clients. This is a win-win.


A small change in process can have a big impact in the outcome for a young person. Here are some examples of youth-inclusive practices that employers can adopt:


1. Keep the language and tone youth-friendly in job descriptions. Use words such as “entry-level” or “junior” and highlight the essential skills (e.g.: communications, teamwork, problem solving) they will build.


2. Be flexible on the application format. For example, résumés don’t have to be a Word document any more. Answering short essay questions or video submissions allow young people to tell their story in a more natural, creative way.


3. De-emphasize educational requirements if they aren’t actually required and be honest about what’s really needed for the role. For example, in a U.S. study of the technology sector, 72 per cent of recruiters reported that they weed out otherwise qualified candidates because of unnecessarily high standards related to technical experience.






4. Screen for skills or traits such as openness and ability to learn through job simulations. If you have a low interview-to-successful-hire ratio, try changing your format. Job simulations over a traditional interview help identify the candidate’s ability to do the job and learn versus the value of prior experience.


5. Mentoring isn’t just for people on the leadership track – it can play a pivotal role for young people as they join an organization. Mentorship helps build comfort in a new environment, self-confidence and networks.


6. Recruit where youth are – on social media, at community centres. Work with a community organization to source candidates. Community organizations largely service the NEET demographic and partnering with them can help reduce the costs and time associated with screening and interviewing.


Recently, CivicAction and a coalition of committed employers launched HireNext. It is a set of tools for employers to recruit, select and retain the young, diverse talent they need in their organizations. It’s an employer GPS of sorts. Check it out.





OK - my electrical contractor buddy tries to hire young people ... even non-academic stream or entry level to train. His big and ongoing complaint for years on end is: They display no initiative or interest in working whatever. He considers it an achievement if they get their hands out of their pockets or know which end of a broom is the handle. The bottom career rung is supporting and cleaning up during & after his licensed electrician's work sites. Never mind getting them off their smart phone social media pursuits. It seems to this observer that we are raising a generation of kids who have no reality experience beyond watching a TV or computer screen !!


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