Nancy Faulkner of HealthSouth demonstrates one of three Walkstations that the company has installed for its employees to use during the workday to simultaneously walk and work. (Birmingham News Photo Linda Stelter)Long conference calls are a way of life for many business folks, and those at HealthSouth Corp. have found a way to wile away the frequent downtime during such telecommunications confabs.
Walking is the answer! HealthSouth's solution has been to install three "Walkstations" at its headquarters on U.S. 280. The machines are exercise treadmills with an Internet-ready computer and telephone attached to a shelf at a height and distance within easy reach of the user.
The idea is for people to use for exercise what would otherwise be downtime spent waiting on a conference call. Some of the 400 workers at the company headquarters are also using the Walkstation for routine email culling, returning phone messages or other tasks which don't require the utmost concentration.
"A number of our employees spend a great amount of time working on computers and engaging in conference calls and Web conferences with our 97 inpatient hospitals spread across 26 states," said Cheryl Levy, the company's head of human resources. "We have all experienced after-lunch drowsiness and the Walkstation helps eliminate that and gives employees a way to get moving and work at the same time."
The treadmill's speed tops at 2 mph, so there is no danger of anyone getting distracted and sliding off to tumble down the carpeted hallways. The machine is also equipped with a calorie-burning meter.
Levy acknowledged that no one is going to get triathlon-ready walking at 2 mph. A 30-minute session at the pace burns about 180 calories.
Demand, however, has been brisk for the Walkstation, she said, and the idea is to get people thinking about their fitness. She said health-care costs are a major corporate outlay for any company, and that current thinking in her profession is to emphasize fitness and disease prevention. To that end, she said, the HealthSouth headquarters has two complete gyms employees can use, with a full complement of cardiovascular and strength training equipment.
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