Absurd Trend Of The Day: “We’re In The Conference Room, On The Treadmills”

We thought we’d heard it all as far as “alternative desk setups” go, from sitting on an exercise ball at work to having a standing desk with no chair at all. Then we heard about the people who hold office meetings on a collection of treadmills. Oy vey.

The New York Times takes a look today at what companies across the country are doing to combat the fact that their employees suffer as a result of sitting at desks all day. Some firms sanction ten minute exercise “recesses,” while others encourage employees to help each other stretch or do “bicep curls using water bottles.”

Not a horrible idea, we thought. You can, after all, feel a little sluggish if you sit at a desk all day. But then we read this:

“Salo, a financial staffing firm in Minneapolis, for example, encourages walking meetings. In a conference room, Salo has set up four treadmill desks, where a height-adjustable working surface is placed above the treadmill track. The desks face one another, so that people can walk and take care of business at the same time.”

Say what? Walking on treadmills while having a meeting? Yes, we’ve heard of people taking a call from the treadmill in their basement, but a treadmill conference room? Apologies for all the questions — we honestly just find this hard to fathom. Aside from the obvious inherent absurdity of the situation, think of all the problems that could arise. Really –we’re not kidding! How’s it gonna feel if your junior employee is walking at an incline twice as steep as you, huh?

Alright, we’re off to go coach each other through a grueling set of push ups under our desks, followed by an office-wide relay race. Later!

[Photo of people walking on treadmills while conducting a business meeting via NYT]

 

TAGS: meetings on the treadmill | salo minneapolis | treadmill

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