this curious life

Steven Poole: A star programmer fired for outsourcing his own job has learned a harsh lesson: exploitation is a job for employers, not staff

Researchers and companies are bringing movement back into the office with treadmill desks, walking meetings and games. Employees say it has helped them lose weight and be more productive.

 

'James Levine, an obesity expert at the Mayo Clinic came up with the idea of the treadmill desk. He says that since the 1960s, work spaces have been designed to minimize movement. It's a culturally ingrained mindset, he says, which dominates much of our lives today.

 

Levine is on a mission to get any kind of movement into the workplace and the workday and has consulted with a number of companies nationwide to help them do this. The most popular activity by far, he says, is the "walk and talk" meeting. "They're generally shorter, more productive, and people don't fall asleep during walk-and-talk meetings."'