Is it "at-work" or "working-out"?

The American Heart Association says that walking 10,000 steps per day can help reduce the risk of stroke by 70%, and initial heart attack rates by 90%. The American Diabetes Association says that walking 10,000 steps per day can help reduce Type II diabetes by 50%.

Companies investing in the walk-at-work movement machines are the newest craze. Several manufacturers are producing desks that will accommodate treadmills so the employees can exercise WHILE THEY WORK! Many companies, such as AOL, AAMD, BestBuy, Bristol Myers-Squibb, Coca Cola Bottling, Consona, Eli Lilly, Microsoft, Pixar and Toyota are trying out this model.

Even in our office, Beth Bowman, whom many of you know, came to me with a proposition. She wanted to STAND at her desk all day instead of sitting. She was having back problems, and she believed it was partly because of sitting all day. We

accommodated her, and raised her desk enough that she can stand all day. She doesn’t have a treadmill under her desk, but I am happy to report that all of her previous back ailments are gone! She believes a large part of these results are because of standing all day instead of sitting. It also burns more than 700 additional calories daily as well!

However, companies investing in the walk-at-work movement could expose themselves to employees filing cumulative trauma claims, said worker’s compensation expert Paul Braun, with AON Global Risk Consulting. “The very simple issue around this type of exposure is that if somebody gets hurt at work and the company has this kind of arrangement, the claim will be accepted; there’s no way around it.” Braun said.

There is a conditional trade-off here- on the one hand, you are helping employees to exercise more and maintain a healthier lifestyle, which in the long run could save you on your group health plan. In addition, you have created a happier, healthier employee that is probably more productive in the long run. On the other hand, the simple fact that you are helping employees to walk while working could open you up to more exposure from a Worker’s Comp standpoint. (Even if a person was running every night after work and they were diagnosed with an ailment from too much stress of running, the injured employee could still maintain that the injury was sustained at work, and it would be paid.)

Don’t get me wrong- I think it is a great idea. However, you need to know what you are getting into when your employee wants to “walk at work”!

Bobby Bland PWCA, CIC
Vice President
Commercial Risk Service