The human body has two different ages, that can be defined as chronological and biological. The chronological age refers to the actual amount of years someone has been alive, while biological age refers to how old that human is depending on genetics and gene expression that can be influenced by environment and lifestyle.
The corporate world of today is losing billions of dollars, because they fail to understand the difference between the chronological and biological ages of employees.
Since 1901, the average human lifespan has increased by more than 30 years. Even in the past 20 years, the average human lifespan is 7 to 10 years longer than it was in 1993. These numbers mean that companies need to start taking into consideration the fact that while people are living much longer chronologically, it doesn’t mean they are living healthier, or more fit lives biologically. This can be seen by the obesity rate in America has increased dramatically by 30% since 1990. This also means that generally speaking people are less fit than they were 27 years ago.
Without taking these statistics into consideration, corporations generally would rather hire a younger person chronologically rather than factor in the option of a younger person biologically.
HFR founder Samir Becic disagrees with this practice “I personally think that corporations are making a big mistake because they are focusing on the chronological age but not on the biological ages of their employees. For example, I have a friend who is 70 years old and still works out 4 times a week. He engages in cardio, eats healthy food, trains and is more fit than most people in their 50s. He recently lost his job due to ageism. The reason this bothers me is that scientifically, a person who is 70 years old and works out all the time can be in much better physical shape than someone who is 50 and doesn’t work out. This leads to the conclusion that biologically, these two people may be much closer in age than the numbers would lead you to believe.
In the corporate world, you want a healthy attitude! When you live a healthy lifestyle, you are going to have much more energy, positivity, creativity, discipline, and enthusiasm at 70 than at 50 if you do not.”
On average, every person that works out is at least 10 years younger biologically than chronologically. A corporate American that prefers hiring a younger person with an unhealthy lifestyle rather than an older person who works out and eats right may be losing billions of dollars because they will not have a chance to use that enormous amount of experience that a 70-year-old, healthy and fit person can give them.
Samir continues “Please take into consideration this point of view and reward someone who has the discipline to work out and live a healthy lifestyle because firing someone over chronological age can cost corporations more money than they think (in addition to being illegal). I suggest every corporation out there promote a healthy lifestyle within their company. I advise fit and healthy employees to disclose that on their resumes, and I am encouraging managers to take this into strong consideration when hiring.”
