Walk your Way to Well-Being at Work: Impact of a Treadmill Workstation on Employee Occupational Health Outcomes

“It’s Been a Game Changer”: Examining Treadmill Desk Use When Working from Home

“…In response to RQ2, the physical, mental, work-related, and social perceived benefits experienced by the treadmill desk users align with and expand upon previous experimental and qualitative literature on the benefits of treadmill desk use. For example, past findings indicating that participants are more active, lose weight, have more energy, better focus, more positive affect, more task satisfaction, and feel less stressed when using a treadmill desk as compared to sitting or standing were supported (Cifuentes et al, 2015 ; Giumetti et al, 2021 ; Sliter & Yuan, 2015 ; Thompson et al, 2014 ). However, past research has not demonstrated any changes in physical symptoms, like back pain, when using a treadmill desk (Giumetti et al, 2021 ), whereas six participants in our study described the relief of joint pain as an important physical outcome and a “game changer”.…”

“…In a sample of physicians, treadmill desk walking led to weight loss and reduced body fat when compared to not using a treadmill desk (Thompson et al, 2014 ). Furthermore, treadmill desk use is associated with better recall and attention (Labonté-LeMoyne et al, 2015 ), more vigor and positive affect (Giumetti et al, 2021 ), and greater arousal, less stress, and more task satisfaction than standing (Sliter & Yuan, 2015 ).…”

“…Past experimental research has demonstrated that employees who use treadmill desks in a laboratory or an office environment experience physical and mental health benefits (e.g., Sliter & Yuan, 2015 ). Treadmill desk users are more active, walking about 2 additional miles per day when compared to not using a treadmill desk (Giumetti et al, 2021 ). While the benefits of treadmill desk use are clear, research exploring how workers use treadmill desks is needed to encourage their implementation and continued use (Tudor-Locke et al, 2014 ).…”

Live-streaming Activity and Relaxation Breaks: a (Home-)Office-Compatible Approach to Promote Break Recovery, Mood, and Attention?

“…Thus, we assume that activity breaks may indeed benefit cognitive performance, but the effect may be limited to specific aspects of cognitive functioning. Prior empirical studies taking a within-subject intervention approach found that on days where participants engaged in increased walking activity during breaks (Sianoja et al, 2018 ) or when participants used an active workstation (Giumetti et al, 2021 ), employees reported better attention than when they spent their breaks as usual or engaged in usual desk work.…”

“…The intraclass correlation of 0.67 of the back pain item suggests that back pain is more chronic than mood states and may thus be more difficult to influence by a mild, low-threshold, and short-term break intervention. Giumetti et al ( 2021 ) also failed to find differences in physical health symptoms between days on which employees worked at active workstations and days when they engaged in usual desk work, and they suggested that the effects of increased physical workplace activity may become apparent only with prolonged use.…”