“On my way to LAX – typing this from 30,000 feet above the ground is wild!,” said her Facebook status update. It might as well have been signaling a new era.

Plane flights always have been solitary – electronic devices are turned off, seat belts are fastened, and work gets stowed in the overhead compartment. Now, the final frontier’s been crossed; wireless internet manifest destiny is here. On board, you’ve got the chance to do the same things in the clouds as you do under them, comfortably on the 802.11g standard that’s common on most wireless networks. The “dark time” of a five hour flight leaves a huge opportunity to be productive, but what’s it really going to change?

Our latest research on work styles would dictate that Mile-High Wi-Fi will only end up revolutionizing one half of work. Focused “head-down” tasks reap the benefits of being connected high in the sky, but the intangible positives that come from rapid-fire collaboration with co-workers doesn’t change; which tells us that the time spent in the office is as important, as being able to focus during the other half of it- whether that’s on a flight or out for coffee. It’s efficiency that’s key on both ends.

Now that working can be done literally everywhere, that importance of collaborative time isn’t lost on us. We’ve been creating tools that make it easier than ever to learn and share between teammates – the time that’s showing to be more necessary each day. We think that once you’re able to take control of inter-office time, the opportunity to maximize the previously unattainable moments is going to be a lot easier, even if it’s at 30,000 feet. You might even be able to sneak in a Facebook update or two.

Uno ready to take flight

Have you ever taken a hot air balloon ride? If so, were you filled with excitement, fear, and amazement? There was only one thing that you trusted that day…the basket. You had faith that the basket was strong enough to hold you and the other people. Now imagine for a moment that the basket was an office chair. You may think this is an absurd possibility, but in reality it has happened.

Jonathan R. Trappe, a cluster balloonist, placed his complete trust in an office chair. He used his Uno chair as the gondola for his balloon flight. With helium balloons securely fastened to the chair, Jonathan and the Uno chair took flight. He reached a maximum altitude of 14,783 feet.

Next time you look up at the vast wonders of the sky…don’t just look for the shooting star or the jumbo jet or the bald eagle…look for the flying Uno chair, now that is a sight to see.

It is pretty evident that Jonathan loved his office chair. Have you ever traveled, gone out to eat, or been to the park with your chair? Let us know the great things that your chair has experienced with you.

Walk, Work & Sit with the Sit-to-Walkstation from Details

Introducing the Sit-to-Walkstation (very similar to the infamous Walkstation). The table on the Sit-to-Walkstation has been expanded to allow room for a chair as well as a treadmill (brilliant!).

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Feel great. Burn calories. It’s as easy as a walk in the park.

Energize your workday with the Sit-to-Walkstation. Just choose how you want to work — sit, stand, or walk — with the push of a button.

The Sit-to-Walkstation combines a complete, low-speed treadmill with an electric, height-adjustable worksurface, so it’s easy to add movement and burn calories as you work, whenever you want. The result: better health and more energy. Not to mention less time at the gym, and more time for what matters.

The Sit-to-Walkstation. A great way to walk toward a healthier you.

The statistics are dismal: According to recent estimates by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 75 percent of U.S. adults will be overweight by 2015. Coupled with the fact that Americans are working increasingly longer hours, maintaining a healthy lifestyle seems like an uphill battle. However, to combat this trend, several companies are developing new ways to promote employee fitness and weight-loss.

One particular approach, incorporating exercise equipment into the office, is especially innovative. From replacing traditional cubicles with treadmill desks to utilizing fitness balls as chairs, some companies are taking extreme measures to promote employee fitness. And, according to various health experts, these efforts may be paying off.

Treadmill Desks
The brainchild of Dr. James Levine, an obesity researcher at the Mayo Clinic, treadmill desks were developed to help sedentary workers burn calories at the office. A world-renowned expert in non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or “NEAT,” Levine studies how people reap fitness benefits from common activities like walking, standing, and even fidgeting. Taking this research one step further, he set out to create the “office of the future,” complete with fitness equipment.

Operating at a 1 mile-per-hour-pace, treadmill desks allow workers to perform all of their requisite tasks – chatting on the phone, checking e-mail, writing memos – while burning 100 calories an hour. And, considering most employees work nine-hour days, that translates to a whopping 900 calories! What’s more, since walkers travel so slowly, they don’t even break into a sweat. Another bonus? Employees don’t experience the back pain that often results from slouching at their desks for hours on end.

In fact, Levine says, treadmill users actually enjoy the change of pace (pun intended!). “It’s great fun, and it creates a whole positivity,” he says. “Partly because it’s so new, but partly because it’s nice to be moving.” However, he’s also quick to assert that companies shouldn’t force their employees to work while walking. “The idea is to give people a choice [to burn extra calories at work] because they’ve never had it before.”

Exercise Balls
Another fitness trend that’s slowly gaining momentum is replacing traditional chairs with exercise balls. Health experts point to the plethora of benefits that fitness balls offer, including strengthening abdominal muscles, improving circulation, and easing back pain. Also, these balls are significantly less expensive than ergonomic chairs, retailing for as low as $15.

Certified marathon coach and fitness guru Wendy Baumgardner particularly extols the usage of exercise balls in the workplace. “The physical therapists, kinesiotherapists and personal trainers I know have all congratulated me on using the ball as a chair, and [they] say that they do so themselves,” Bumgardner says. “Perhaps it’s a fad, but it’s one with many converts [in the] exercise and therapy [fields].”

Still, she warns those who want to jump on the exercise-ball bandwagon to start off slowly. “You should begin with a half-hour or less and build up your time each day to see how you tolerate it,” she says. Most likely, as you become more comfortable with the ball, you’ll be able to sit on it permanently.

Up for Discussion
So, what do you think about this workplace trend? If you were given the option to work at a treadmill desk or utilize a fitness ball, would you take it? What are some other ways your company is promoting employee fitness? Please share your stories!
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Republished from our friends at Office Arrow

cobi - every part of cobi was designed to flex and adjust to your body

Steelcase received the prestiguous 2009 Red Dot Design Award for the cobi® chair, the newest edition to Steelcase collaborative seating collection. The Red Dot award, formally known as Design Innovations, is ranked amongst the largest design competitons.

cobi was designed by Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd of the London-based PearsonLloyd, in collaboration with Steelcase Design Studio. The chair’s design encourages users to move freely and minimizes fatigue by supporting a wide range of sitting postures. It features an elastomeric top edge that gives way when users drape an arm over the back of the chair (which, I’m sure we are all guilty of doing when sitting in a chair for longer periods of time).

Also, the seat pan flexes on three sides, allowing users to sit multiple ways in comfort. cobi caters to a collaborative work environment and combines aesthetics with performance.

cobi will be available to purchase on the Steelcase Store beginning in June. The armless version of cobi starts at $399 whereas cobi with arms starts at $439.

Click here for more information regarding cobi.