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Author Topic: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?  (Read 8122 times)

app103

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Imagine if the company you worked for decided to do this:

Removing chairs and traditional desk seating;
Introducing walking tracks;
Educating and encouraging staff to conduct walking meetings;
Replacing traditional phones with mobile sets;
Adding desks attached to treadmills;
Introducing games in the workplace;
Providing high-tech activity monitors; and
Advising staff about nutrition.

Desks attached to treadmills? Could you actually be productive? I know plenty of people that can't chew gum and walk at the same time. I can't imagine typing and walking would be any easier.


Deozaan

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Re: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?
« Reply #1 on: September 14, 2008, 10:04 PM »
Maybe if your job was to spin the hamster wheel you could walk and be productive...

40hz

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Re: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?
« Reply #2 on: September 15, 2008, 11:55 AM »
Notice two  things?

1. Who came up with it:
This one was created by a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist.

2. Notice what it addressed:
Removing chairs and traditional desk seating;
Introducing walking tracks;
Educating and encouraging staff to conduct walking meetings;
Replacing traditional phones with mobile sets;
Adding desks attached to treadmills;
Introducing games in the workplace;
Providing high-tech activity monitors; and
Advising staff about nutrition.

Notice what this brainstorm missed:

1. Any input from the lab rats...err...employees about what they might think about the arrangement. (There are such things as labor unions; professional associations; and people that don't like to live their lives at the gym.)

2. Any thought as to what tasks the employees are performing to earn their company some money? I'd love to be troubleshooting a network outage that required my complete concentration while standing on a treadmill. Or nailing down some tech issue that has political overtones while walking around with six department heads who are each trying to protect their turf.

3. What about all those smart people with physical disabilities. Would they be able to work in a company whose culture places such an emphasis on being physical? Would they even be hired to begin with?

An interesting article. But once again, a medical doctor looks at a complex human issue, reduces it to a medical problem within his specialty, and ignores everything else. That's what doctors are trained to do. And it shouldn't be construed as a fault. Focus is what makes a doctor a good doctor.

And also why we seldom put MDs in charge of anything! ;D




Deozaan

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Re: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?
« Reply #3 on: September 15, 2008, 12:36 PM »
But I have seen exercise machines connected to video games, where you have to keep pedaling the bike (or whatever) to power your video game/controller. Kind of a niche market, and more of a novelty than anything else.

app103

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Re: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2008, 03:03 PM »
I wonder if they brought in a podiatrist, afterwards, if he wouldn't change things and bring back chairs, to get everyone to take the load off their aching feet.

It also makes me wonder what different types of doctors would do to change the typical office environment.

What would an office redesigned by a dentist be like?

Shades

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Re: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2008, 09:31 PM »
It would have (at least) one bright light.... ;D

Josh

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Re: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2008, 09:33 PM »
app103: Ask mousey, he has experience with dentists offices :)

4wd

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Re: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2008, 09:40 PM »
And also why we seldom put MDs in charge of anything! ;D

Unfortunately I wish it also held true for managers - they rarely have any grasp of what is happening or required in the field.  ;)

At least that's what seemed to be the norm in my previous life as a technician.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2008, 09:42 PM by 4wd »

mrainey

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Re: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?
« Reply #8 on: September 16, 2008, 07:26 AM »
I have a treadmill at home with an attached "desk" (a piece of plywood laid across the handles).  I'm actually able to get quite a lot of programming, surfing, or video watching done with the speed set to 1 mph, which is barely moving.  My wife reads books while she walks.

The point is that being upright and moving is better for you than prolonged periods of sitting on your butt.

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Paul Keith

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Re: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?
« Reply #9 on: September 16, 2008, 09:00 AM »
So much wasted potential. This could have been a full blown WorkRave if they only focused on RSI and CVS instead of fitness...

Paul Keith

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Re: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?
« Reply #10 on: September 16, 2008, 09:21 AM »
I have a treadmill at home with an attached "desk" (a piece of plywood laid across the handles).  I'm actually able to get quite a lot of programming, surfing, or video watching done with the speed set to 1 mph, which is barely moving.  My wife reads books while she walks.

The point is that being upright and moving is better for you than prolonged periods of sitting on your butt.



I don't know. I could see the long term impact on the feet increasing total strain as the fatigue builds up in the corporate environment. Probably much more beneficial to replace a chair with a medicine ball.