華麗麗的跑步機辦公桌真的有用嗎大綱

Trendy treadmill desks might actually help improve job performance - after employees get used to working while walking, according to new research.

新的研究表明，時髦的跑步機辦公桌或許真的有助於提高工作表現──在員工習慣了一邊行走一邊工作之後。

A yearlong study of finance workers at a company in St. Paul, Minn. found that the productivity of 40 treadmill users dropped at first as they struggled to master typing and manipulating a mouse while walking at speeds of up to two miles per hour.

對明尼蘇達州聖保羅(St. Paul)一家公司財務部門員工展開的爲期一年的調查發現，40名跑步機使用者的工作效率在開始的時候出現下降，因爲他們很難做到一邊以最高每小時兩英里（約合3.2千米）的速度行走，一邊打字、操作鼠標。

But within four to six months, all three measures of performance-quality and quantity of work, and quality of interactions with colleagues-rose steadily, according to weekly surveys of participants.

但這項每週一次的調查還顯示，在四到六個月內，三個衡量績效的指標都穩步上升。這三個指標分別是工作質量、工作量，以及與同事互動的質量。

At the end of the survey period, workers with treadmill desks rated their overall performance 0.69 points higher than before the project began, on a 1-to-10 scale. Performance ratings given by their supervisors, who filled out weekly surveys rating both treadmill users and non-users, rose for walkers by a full point by the end of the year.

一年的調查期結束時，擁有跑步機辦公桌的員工給自己打出的績效評分（按一到10評分）相比項目開始前提高了0.69個點；由管理者給出的績效評分上升了整整一個點。管理者每個星期填寫一次調查問卷，同時給使用跑步機的員工和不使用跑步機的員工打分。

For tasks like solving problems or taking conference calls, 'a little bit of walking is useful because it means there's more blood flow to the brain,' said Avner Ben-Ner, a professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management and an author of the study, which was published last month in the online journal PLOS ONE. 'You get more oxygen and it increases the ability to think.'

相關論文於2月份發表在網絡期刊《公共科學圖書館・綜合》(PLOS ONE)上。論文作者之一、明尼蘇達大學(University of Minnesota)卡爾森管理學院(Carlson School of Management)教授阿夫納・本-內爾(Avner Ben-Ner)說，對於解決問題或參加電話會議之類的任務，“適當走走是有用的，因爲這會加快大腦的血液循環。你會獲得更多的氧氣，從而提高思考的能力”。

Treadmill desks have gotten attention amid research findings about the negative effects of sedentary lifestyles and jobs that leave workers sitting all day. But data on the effectiveness of the desks has been relatively scant. Two recent studies have shown that treadmill walking reduced a person's accuracy in fine-motor tasks such as typing and mouse-clicking.

跑步機辦公桌之所以引起關注，是因爲研究揭示了久坐不起的生活方式以及讓員工整天坐着的工作所存在的負面效應。但有關這類辦公桌是否有效的數據一直相對稀少。最近的兩次研究已經表明，在跑步機上行走會降低人在執行打字、點擊鼠標等精細動作任務時的精確性。

There are other downsides, too, as The Wall Street Journal wrote last year, including the possibility of falls and injuries and, according to some online complaints, painful shocks from the machines' build-up of static.

正如《華爾街日報》去年有文章所寫的，跑步機辦公桌還有其他一些不好的地方，比如摔倒、受傷的可能性，以及一些人在網上抱怨的跑步機靜電造成的電擊。

Mr. Ben-Ner noted that treadmill users need some time to adjust to the ergonomics of walking while working, including the proper monitor and keyboard height. His team provided no training to study participants, and he said that employers who provide such desk should offer help to get users set up and comfortable on the machines.

本-內爾提到，跑步機使用者需要經過一定的時間才能適應邊走邊工作的人體工程學，比如顯示器和鍵盤的合適高度。他的研究團隊沒有爲參與者提供培訓。他說，提供這類辦公桌的僱主應當主動幫助使用者習慣這些機器並自如使用。

'This wouldn't be very good for people who thread a needle for their jobs,' he said. 'But everyone who does brain work knows that if you're stumped or need fresh ideas, take a walk.'

他說：“這種東西對於正在着力解決工作難題的人不是非常適合。但所有腦力勞動者都知道，如果你被某個問題難住了，或者是需要全新的點子，那就不妨走上一走。”