Walking to work for a more sustainable tomorrow
If you’re one of many lost in a never-ending pursuit of a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle, we bring you a solution. Introducing – WALKING TO WORK.
Maybe a more correct term would be reintroducing since commercial cars have only been available to us since the beginning of the 20th century. Before that, we didn’t know any better and our energy was the only fuel we needed. So why did we become so lazy and abandon the idea of walking to work altogether? Time. We’ve made a conscious decision to choose practicality over sustainability.
But ask yourself this – what is the most valuable thing to you?
Your money, your health, or your time? Yes, we’re starting this article with an existential question, hope your day is going well.
When asked this question people unintentionally “forget” how important their health is and think of their time as the most precious thing there is. But focusing on saving your time might harm other areas of your life.
Why Driving a Car to Work and Working Remotely Do More Harm Than Good?
According to research from 2021, around 86% of Americans commute to work by car.
This might cut the time you spend transporting from point A to point B, but staying in a seated position for that long can’t be good for your health. Now, add on that a 9 to 5 job and the amount of time you’ll be spending sitting at your desk.
We, as humans, are not made to sit down and be still, at least not for that long.
Sooner or later, back pain is spreading around the office like a virus and you realize you’ve been postponing self-care.
Don’t be a procrastinator, not when your health is at stake!
Make some simple yet fruitful changes to your everyday life, starting with relying more on your feet rather than your vehicle.
As for the impact that working remotely has on your health, most of us can draw from our personal experience.
If you worked during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a high chance you had to work remotely for a while. It was new, different, and fun in the beginning, but soon, we had to face the repercussions of not socializing and most importantly not practicing physical activity.
Human’s trait to get used to everything, can cost us our health. By working from home, we didn’t have a reason to leave our house and do a simple task such as walking to work.
Not practicing exercise is the disease of the modern man, walking to work is its remedy.
Seven Benefits of Walking to Work
What’s there not to like about walking?
Yeah, sometimes we’re too lazy to do it, but with all the benefits that come with it, we can overcome laziness. We should overcome laziness. And if you need more encouragement to do it, we’re here for you with the list of seven benefits.
1 Walking is a great cardio workout
If running or any other type of cardio exercise is not an option for you due to busy schedules, walking to work can be a great alternative. Speed up a bit and elevate your heartbeat, respiration, and temperature. Walking to work can burn calories like nobody’s business. It can contribute to the prevention of obesity-related diseases, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and coronary heart disease.
Walking to work will keep you fit and lower your risk of getting health issues caused by a lack of physical activity. Besides that, endorphins produced by walking improve your mood and boost your self-esteem.
Try it out and your body fitness will be forever grateful!
2 Daily walks reduce your stress
Driving to work is always followed by side problems, like getting stuck in a traffic jam or interacting with angry drivers, or arriving at work late for one of the previously mentioned reasons. The list of problems goes on. And where there are problems there is stress.
Lucky for you, by practicing walking to work those problems and increased stress levels disappear.
3 Physical activity helps you clear your mind
Life is moving at a fast pace. As such, it is not surprising that in a long day you don’t have even a second to think about what happened or what is happening, let alone what will happen. One thing that can help you overcome chaotic life moments is having time to think.
Walking to and from work forces you to look around, pay attention to what’s happening outside of the four walls, and engage your mind. You might solve some long-running problems when looking at them with a clear mind.
4 Walking boosts your work performance
All healthy habits, including walking, positively affect your mood, energy, and daily productivity. If you’re feeling energized and motivated, ready to conquer any obstacle that comes your way, you’ll be more prepared to confront your tasks at work.
Walking nurtures your well-being which directly reflects on your work performance.
5 Walking to work will save you money
Let’s be honest, the economic situation globally isn’t great, to put it lightly. If there’s a chance for you to save some money, why not use it? Avoid spending a fortune on gas or public transportation.
Walk to work and save money for something you’ll be needing – better walking shoes.
6 Sustainable habits are good for the environment
Be a part of a community and gravitate towards the same greater goal – the well-being of our planet. Arguably, there’s no better feeling than doing something good for others. By walking you’ll be doing something good not only for others but also yourself. Lower your carbon footprint by making walking your new daily habit.
With the innovative technology of our KINTO Join sustainability app, you can calculate the amount of CO2 you save by walking in real-time. How is that possible? Our team can help you understand.
7 A way to connect with your colleagues: KINTO Join and a walking journey
Building a bond with your colleagues takes time and is more likely to happen outside of the office.
The KINTO Join app can help you even with that. If colleagues are going in the same direction as you, use walking back home as an opportunity to verify your journey together and connect with them on a deeper level. There are no cons there. You get a verification that your commute was sustainable and a friend all at the same time.
Adopting sustainable habits is anything but a linear process. It comes with ups and downs, the urge to quit as soon as things don’t go your way, and constant reevaluation if you made the right choice. Walking to work is a decision you’ll be glad you took, both tomorrow and years from now.
Sustainability is a choice worth making.