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. 2014 Feb 20;9(2):e88620.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088620. eCollection 2014.

Treadmill workstations: the effects of walking while working on physical activity and work performance

Avner Ben-Ner  1 , Darla J Hamann  2 , Gabriel Koepp  3 , Chimnay U Manohar  1 , James Levine  3
Affiliations

Treadmill workstations: the effects of walking while working on physical activity and work performance

Avner Ben-Ner et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

We conducted a 12-month-long experiment in a financial services company to study how the availability of treadmill workstations affects employees' physical activity and work performance. We enlisted sedentary volunteers, half of whom received treadmill workstations during the first two months of the study and the rest in the seventh month of the study. Participants could operate the treadmills at speeds of 0-2 mph and could use a standard chair-desk arrangement at will. (a) Weekly online performance surveys were administered to participants and their supervisors, as well as to all other sedentary employees and their supervisors. Using within-person statistical analyses, we find that overall work performance, quality and quantity of performance, and interactions with coworkers improved as a result of adoption of treadmill workstations. (b) Participants were outfitted with accelerometers at the start of the study. We find that daily total physical activity increased as a result of the adoption of treadmill workstations.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have read the journal’s policy and have the following conflicts. Disclosure: Dr. Levine, prior to 2008, received consulting/royalty fees from Steelcase. He currently has no financial or legal agreement of any kind with Steelcase, Inc. The following authors received grant support: Koepp G, Levine J, and Ben-Ner A. The following authors received Consulting Fees: Hamann D. This does not alter the authors’ adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Treadmill workstation image.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Accelerometer image.
Figure 3
Figure 3. The Treadmill Workstation Learning Curve - The Contribution of Experience to Employee Performance.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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