FRIDAY FUNNY: Workout at Work

According to a recent story on Discovery.com, one solution to boss bullying may be exercise. No really! And when you think about it, everything makes sense. The more stressful the situation (or position), the more a boss may take it out on employees.

In the article, Stephanie Pappas writes,

Researchers at Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois at Chicago asked 98 MBA students and their 98 supervisors to fill out surveys on their workplace experiences. Students answered questions about how abusive their supervisor was, such as whether their supervisor put them down in front of others or told them they were stupid. The supervisors reported how often they exercised; they also answered questions about their levels of workplace stress and amount of free time.

The results, published January 6, 2012 in the Journal of Business and Psychology, showed that employees rate stressed supervisors as more abusive than more chill bosses. No surprise there, but the research also revealed that moderate levels of exercise minimized this nasty “trickle-down” effect, even as those bosses remained stressed.

And not only the boss gets stressed out by sedentary work habits. The emerging field of “sedentary science” is sounding alarm bells to corporations nationwide, warning that employees shackled to office chairs may be the number one reason for spiraling obesity rates and increasing levels of chronic disease in the United States.

One potential answer to this health problem is to introduce innovations designed to keep employees moving while they work. While Steelcase has been offering its Walkstation Workstation for several years, another new option is on the market: the TrekDesk Treadmill Desk.

Based in Scottsdale, AZ, TrekDesk is selling a workplace desk that uses a treadmill instead of a chair. So instead of sitting, users walk, type, and talk on the treadmill all day long.

Designed to fit any existing treadmill, TrekDesk treadmill desk is an affordable, full sized, height adjustable workstation that allows individuals the opportunity to gain the necessary amount of exercise daily to maintain health, prevent disease, strengthen muscles, boost mood and productivity, without requiring additional time during the day or extra motivation.

TrekDesk is currently available for sale online for $479.00 including free shipping. So if you’re searching for just the right gift for yourself OR your boss, perhaps everyone can pitch in…


2 COMMENTS

  1. I enjoyed this post, but had a hard time deciding if that treadmill desk is for real. Seems to me that exercising at your desk defeats the purpose of exercise, which in part is to give your brain a rest as well. Wouldn’t it be better to get up and walk away from work, walk around for a while and then come back?

Comments are closed.