Do Treadmill Desks Make Workers More Productive?

Just this morning I was on the treadmill and watching TV, wishing I could do something more productive, or at least more interesting, while getting my exercise. I had heard about desks that fit a treadmill, but I wasn’t sure if those were aimed at consumers or businesses. I went to Amazon.com and searched for “treadmill desk” and the first two I looked at were $500, so I stopped looking; too much for me.

Then, I get to work, go online, and see this story out of Minneapolis in which researchers discovered that workers using treadmill desks were more productive. In the study, which covered a year of observing both workers and supervisors, they found that not only worker productivity increased, but so did creativity, although I’m not clear on how they measured that. Workers also burned 8% more calories than they did sitting down. I wouldn’t mind having a treadmill desk at all, but (surprise!) the comments section after the story is filled with people who think it is a terrible idea.