uhr 10 strangely useful workplace wellness tech
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10 Strangely UsefulWorkplaceWellness
Technologies
Brought to you by:
Thanks to changes in
workplace law and
economic pressures raising
health care costs,
employers are now
leveraging the workplace to
improve employee health
more than ever before.
Today’s workplace wellness
programs offer more than
just fruit in the vending
machines; they take direct
aim at employee’s blood
pressure, cholesterol, body
mass index and smoking
habits.
But this trend toward engaging
employees in a metricsbased
approach to onthejob wellness is
having other, more noticeable
effects, as health equipment and
fitness vendors scramble to invent
and market the latest and greatest
ergonomically unlookedfor
wellness technologies. These may
look a bit odd, but they also might
just be finding their way to an
office near you.
Here are 10 strangely useful
workplace technologies that
might just help make your
workspace a healthier place.
No, you’re not looking at a unicycle fortoddlers. The DeskCycle is stationary bicyclethat fits into small spaces, like underneathyour standard 30inch desk.
As long as you don’t mind sweating throughyour buttonup, the DeskCycle’s ultraquietpedaling mechanism and can be used whiletyping on your desktop computer, talking onthe telephone, or even eating a healthy snack.The five function display shows the user’scurrent speed, time elapsed, distancetraveled, and calories burned.
Retail price: $159.00.
1. The DeskCycle
Believe it or not, sitting all day can bedamaging to your body. Experts suggest thatworkers should stand two minutes for everytwenty they are deskbound.
The VARIDESK Pro Plus 36 standing deskaccommodates up to 35 pounds and supportsmultimonitor setups. Its twotiered design,with an upper display surface for your monitorand a lower keyboard and mouse deck, canbe adjusted to eleven different positions for atailored ergonomic workspace. The deskcomes fully assembled and remains sturdyeven when fully extended.
Retail price: $350
2. VARIDESK Pro Plus 36 HeightAdjustable Standing Desk
For those who always wanted to wear two watches but
never had the right excuse, the InBody Band offers on
thego body composition metrics such as fat, bone,
water and muscle percentages in the human body.
Body composition isn’t easy to guess just by eyeing
someone. Muscular tissue takes up less space in the
body than most people think, and fatty tissue may build
up on the inside with little outward sign.
The InBody band also calculates your daily steps,
distance walked and calories burned. They have a
sporty look, and fashionistas can check the intensity of
their workouts by monitoring heart rate or examine the
quality of their sleep all from the back of their wrist.
The band is compatible with Android 4.3 and iPhone
4S/iOS7.0 or newer phones.
Retail price: $180
3. InBody Band
Don’t just sit. Don’t just stand. Perfect your
lean, instead.
Focal Upright Furniture designed its Mobius
Seat to increase workspace activity and
encourage easy movement. The pillared
chair supports the body in a relaxed upright
posture, is easy to move from location to
location, and can function both inside and
outdoors.
The seat encourages the user to stand and
prevents the associated fatigue.
Retail price: $519
4. Focal Upright Mobis Seat
Employers whose wellness programs incentivize
workers to quit smoking can check that they’ve really
kicked the habit using the Detect Cotinine System from
PTS Diagnostics.
The palmsized device offers quantitative results using a
fingerstick, which is quicker and less invasive than
venous draws that must be tested in a laboratory. The
detector measures a user’s levels of cotinine, which is
byproduct of nicotine, from levels of 25 ng/ml to 200
ng/ml in under five minutes.
Such measurements may indicate whether or not the
user:
Avoids tobacco.
Has been exposed to secondhand smoke.
Is a light tobacco user.
Is a heavy tobacco user.
Retail price: $378
5. PTS Detect Cotinine System
The Level, from maker FluidStance, isn’t so
much like a wobble board that it would
throw people off balance at the
workstations. Rather, it encourages subtle,
constant movement such as gentle swaying
or rocking.
Used regularly, the Level may increase
stability, range of motion and heart rate. It
can be used at a desk, in an office, or even
at a conference to tilt, sway and stretch
throughout the work day.
Retail price: $289
6. The FluidStance Level
The Roleo Arm and Hand
Massager from MassageU
professes to reduces the
occurrence of repetitive stress
injuries such as carpal tunnel
syndrome, relaxing muscles to
prevent numbness, tingling,
weakness and other problems in
your hands.
Retail price: $45
7. The Roleo Arm and Hand Massager
Aromatherapy is the use of aromatic plantmaterials and essential oils to alter sniffers’moods. That could be useful around the office,where good moods are sometimes in shortsupply.
The Aromax Diffuser from Air Aroma usesnatural plant extracts to reduce stress, removeunscently odors, including those linked totobacco use, and feature an antibacterial andantiviral formula that eliminates unwantedpathogens.
It may look like a howitzer shell, but it smells likethe bomb.
Retail price: $300
8. Air Aroma Diffusers
Massages have gone handsfree and
companies large and small are
acknowledging the productivity benefits a
little onthejob of bodywork.
The NeuroSpa Station massage chair
reduces anxiety and stress by supplying its
occupant with a deeply relaxing experience
to energize the mind and relieve chronic
pain. It fights fatigue, stimulates healthy
circulation and regulates blood pressure.
Retail price: Contact retailer to receive quote.
9. NeuroSpa ZeroG Massage Chair Recliner
Naps are a habit of many highly successful individuals.
Winston Churchill once said:
Nature has not intended mankind to work from eight in
the morning until midnight without that refreshment of
blessed oblivion which, even if it only lasts twenty
minutes, is sufficient to renew all vital forces.
This was more than an eloquent turn of phrase;
Churchill’s afternoon nap was a nonnegotiable part of
his daily routine.
Nowadays employers are learning that just 15 minutes
of rest helps to fight daily fatigue, in which case the
MetroNaps EnergyPod is just bubble employees may
need.
Retail price: $8,000 to $13,000
10. MetroNaps EnergyPod
While these technologies may
seem odd at first, such perks may
just grab the eyes of new talent,
reduce healthcare costs and
increase worker productivity.
Whether costly or not, the makers
of these products keep a stalwart
eye on workplace ROI, and in
time they may just end up paying
for themselves.