A University of Minnesota study found walking on a treadmill while working not only boosted employee health and wellness, but it also led to an increase in productivity.
Avner Ben-Ner, a Work and Organizations professor at the Carson School of Management, conducted the study which sought to uncover the benefits of treadmills in the workplace. As one can imagine, working while on a treadmill only lends itself to certain professions, so Ben-Ner limited his study to a local financial services company with roughly 40 employees.
The company provided its employees with a computer, telephone, and writing space on a desk attached to the treadmill, and they programmed the treadmills to go no faster than 2 miles per hour to ensure employees could keep pace even though they were focusing on other activities. The decision to walk on the treadmill was completely voluntary.
Results
Ben-Ner and colleagues tracked the company for a year. After complying the data, Ben-Ner’s findings suggest more companies may be adding treadmills to the workplace in the near future. They found that treadmills increased productivity by nearly 10 percent, which Ben-Ner said was “a substantial increase.”
Although further studies are needed, Ben-Ner believes treadmills increase productivity because it keeps a person’s brain from getting complacent.
“The employer benefits from the employee being active and healthy and more smart because more blood is flowing to the brain,” Ben-Ner said. He added that the initial investment of installing treadmills in the workplace could pay off after only a few months with the added boost in productivity.
“There is a very simple cost-benefit analysis here,” said Ben-Ner. “You sit long, you start dozing off because you don’t do anything other than thinking.”
Dr. Silverman comments
This is a very-thought provoking article. Anyone can surmise that adding treadmills to a sedentary office setting will likely lead to better employee health, but the key part here is that it also leads to an increase in productivity.
Now, instead of trying to convince your boss to add treadmills as a way of reducing health insurance costs, an employee can point to this study as say that treadmills, when used in the right setting, can boost productivity. If you’re a company that fits the bill, how can you not consider adding treadmills to the work place?
As much as I’d like to see this idea become mainstream, it will only work in a few industries. You know I’m a huge health proponent, but I don’t think my patients would be too thrilled to learn I will be preforming their ankle fusion while walking on a treadmill. I guess I’ll have to stick with the post-work routine.
Related source: Star Tribune