New research published in the International Journal of Manpower shows there is an interdependent relationship between making money, having sex, and being physically healthy. While the health benefits of sex have been known for some time the relationship with money and career success is a new finding.
The research team found that workers who have sex two to three times per week earn, on average, 4.5 percent more than coworkers who have sex less often. The team surveyed 7,500 individuals and found that “workers with health problems who are sexually active earn 1.5 percent more than those with similar ailments who are not sexually active.”
Dr. Nick Drydakis, from Anglia Ruskin University, concluded that having a higher income results in leading a more active sex life, and that having more sex supports our efforts at the office. In short it works both ways – have sex to get ahead, have more sex because you’re ahead.
“Does lack of sex lead to lower wages or lower wages lead to less sex? In the literature there are studies that have examined both effects. Celibacy results in lower wages, as well as lower wages leading to less sex. That is, we can provide socio-economic arguments and health- and mental health-based arguments in order to support both effects.” Drydakis said.
Drydakis also noted that it is both the physical and the emotional effects of sex that improve our mental well-being. This healthy mental state leads us to perform better at other tasks. So it isn’t just sexual forms of care that are important to sustaining a healthy mental life and thus achieving our professional goals.
Without non-sexual care and support, we fall victim to loneliness, anxiety, and depression, which in turn affects our performance in other areas of life.
But if you think earning more money allows you to simply have more casual sex, think again says Helen Fisher, a sexual health researcher. A majority of men and women are looking to trigger a long-term relationship when they engage in sexual contact, which produces much of the non-sexual care that is so important to mental health.
The research also showed that maintaining a good level of health is absolutely essential.
“Workers taking medication were 5.4 percent less sexually active; those with diabetes 2.4 percent less; and those with arthritis and rheumatism 3.9 percent less,” according to the team. “People whose health is impaired face a 9.5 percent productivity penalty at work, while there is also a health-based discrimination factor on the order of 8.9 percent.”
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