The Workplace Fitness Barriers Index

Where work may make exercise harder to fit in.

How does your workweek leave room for exercise? Bespoke Fit compared working patterns across US occupations and industries to explore where fitting in fitness may be harder.

Key findings

01

Highest detailed occupation score

Architectural and engineering managers

The highest score among the detailed occupations analyzed.

88.78 See detailed occupation scores →
02

Longest working week

Firefighters

The longest average working week among the detailed occupations analyzed.

53.6 hours Compare working hours →
03

Commute pattern

Construction-related occupations

Construction-related jobs account for eight of the ten detailed occupations with the longest one-way commutes.

8 of the top 10 Compare commute times →

Rankings

Explore the rankings.

Scores compare entries only within the same category. Detailed occupations use different inputs from occupation groups and industries.

155 results
Workplace fitness barriers rankings

Scroll the rankings ↕ to explore all results. Use swipe, mouse wheel, or arrow keys when the list is focused. Index rank stays the same when you sort or search.

Workweek time calculator

How much of your week is tied to work?

Enter your work and commute time, then select the main issue that affects exercise for a general starting point.

1Tell us about your working week
44.4 hours

0 hours168 hours

26 minutes

0 minutes180 minutes

5 days

0 days7 days

Your work and commute totalWeekly estimate
48h 44m

of your week goes to work and commuting.

remains outside work and commuting. This time is not all available for exercise: sleep, meals, caring responsibilities and recovery also need room.

4h 20mspent commuting each week
52 mincommuting on each commuting day, round trip
2What usually makes exercise hardest to fit in?

Choose one.

Your practical starting pointKeep a no-travel workout ready for busy days, such as a short session at home.

Totals use your entries; the tip uses only your selected barrier.

Coaching that fits your schedule

Build a fitness routine around your workweek.

Work one-on-one with a Bespoke Fit coach over live video, wherever you exercise.

See how coaching works

Methodology

How the rankings were built.

The study uses two scoring models because detailed occupation data and broader occupation-group and industry data do not contain the same measures.

Inputs and weights

Detailed occupations
Average weekly hours worked (50%), average one-way commute (30%), and estimated percentage of the workday spent sitting (20%). Direct leisure-time exercise data were not available for individual occupations.

Occupation groups and industries
Percentage reporting no leisure-time exercise (45%), average weekly hours worked (35%), and estimated percentage of the workday spent sitting (20%).

How the scores work

Each detailed occupation, occupation group, or industry is compared only with the others in its own list. The weighted measures create an index score from 0 to 100.

Higher scores indicate more potential barriers within that list. Scores are not percentages, health assessments, or measures of burnout. Small score differences may not be meaningful.

What to keep in mind
  • The detailed ranking includes 155 of 162 matched occupations. Entries without complete data were left out.
  • Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations; Military Specific Occupations; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting Industries; and Management of Companies and Enterprises Industries are excluded because required inputs were unavailable.
  • Industry sitting figures are employment-weighted estimates. Public Administration uses a wider government staffing estimate and should be treated as indicative.
  • People who work from home are counted as having no commute. Detailed occupation hour estimates are suppressed when the unweighted sample is below 100.
  • The sources cover different years and populations. The measures do not come from the same individual workers.
  • Sitting time does not measure physical effort, fatigue, injury risk, or recovery needs. Different weights or newer data could change the rankings.

See the complete exclusions and technical notes in the workbook.

Sources and full data

View the full workbook and source notes.