10-Minute Workouts?

As I type this, I’m toggling between my blog and an NPR web chat about the benefits of mini workouts, and the potential for integrating 10-minute workouts into the workplace. Thus, the recess at work I’ve written about countless times! One of the experts answering chat questions is Dr. Toni Yancey of UCLA’s School of Public Health, who NPR refers to as a “minibreak crusader.” She’s running a cool program out of UCLA called Lift Off!, which encourages workplaces, schools and other organizations to incorporate brief bouts of exercise into their daily schedules. In order to get companies to make daily exercise a priority, Dr. Yancey notes how important top-down leadership is for bottom-up support. She goes on to suggest things like a “sitting ban” during meetings and alas, recess! Currently involved in a study looking at how employees fare at more than 70 work sites instituting mini break programs across Los Angeles County, Dr. Yancey expects to have new findings about the link between exercise and productivity within about three years.

I agree with everything Dr. Yancey is saying, but I question whether her method alone is the right one to make sustained change. Every company culture is incredibly different, and I think a mini break program needs to be adapted to fit every culture. For some, this may mean that the culture encourages and embraces employees going for walks at lunchtime. For others, it might be a company aerobics class or ultimate frisbee game or round of Wii Tennis in the afternoon. And for others, it might mean integrating fitness into meetings and everyday work. People in the web chat have suggested things like walking the halls in their office during the day and taking hula-hoop breaks! A one-size-fits-all approach won’t work, and I think companies need to acknowledge that they need to spend time and resources to take an honest look at their employees’ interests and goals, as well as their company culture’s opportunities and challenges for support.

My approach differs from Dr. Yancey’s in that I really want to see organizations changing their cultures to enable employees to make personal changes and stick to them (physical, emotional, and structural changes alike). This involves a period of discovery, during which employees are observed, interviewed, and encouraged to offer feedback. Management are evaluated for their commitment to their own health and the health of their employees. This is followed by a period of synthesis, after which, themes and ideas can drive the design of a program appropriate to the corporate culture. In order to really address the issue of the failing health of the US population, companies need to truly understand the problem’s causes in order to design a sustainable solution. And because I really support what Dr. Yancey and her team are doing, I hope Lift Off! is a strong solution for many of today’s wellness-oriented organizations.

OK, enough toggling…I’m heading back to the web chat full-time now…