Thu, June 9, 2005

Staff takes a run at office work

By AP

 
ROCHESTER, MINN. -- Sitting at their desks is about the last thing workers do in Dr. James Levine's office of the future.

Instead of being sedentary in front of their computers, they stand. But instead of standing still, they walk on a treadmill. And instead of meeting around a conference table, they talk business while walking laps on a track.

"I hate going to the gym, which may be partly why I'm so interested in this," said Levine, a Mayo Clinic obesity researcher.

Levine is a leading researcher of NEAT -- or "non-exercise activity thermogenesis" -- the calories people burn during everyday activities such as standing, walking or even fidgeting.

'ULTIMATE ... MAKEOVER'

A recently published study he led showed thin people are on their feet an average of 152 more minutes a day than couch potatoes. Levine was brainstorming ways to address that 21/2-hour deficit a few months ago when he had the idea for the "ultimate office makeover."

"The response has to be appropriate for the magnitude of the problem," he said. "And so we really thought, 'Is there a completely different way of working?' "

Within four weeks, his team developed an alternative to the traditional cubicle -- workstations that combine a computer, desk and treadmill into one unit.

Levine and his team also put a carpeted track around the perimeter of their new 465-square-metre space. They also used black tape to mark a hockey net on the wall behind Levine's treadmill, so they can fire lightweight plastic pucks at the goal while talking to him.

"It's great fun and it creates a whole positivity," he said.

Levine said the 10 workstations cost about $1,000 US each -- about half the cost of a cubicle