The ultimate Christian Louboutin Bianca 140 Python Pumps Office Design When getting In Shape Throughout the Workday

: Flickr/Steve JurvetsonSergey Brin wearing Vibram Five Fingers. David Teten Email David Teten is a Partner with ff Business capital and Chairman of Harvard Business School Angels New york. Recent PostsPrivate Sector Bandaids, And Making The us Competitive AgainReinventing a cubicle: How to lose Fat and Increase Productivity... How to work with Private Fairness and Business capital Portfolio... David Teten AlmaLinks Dinner for Young Professionals, September 6 IGNITE! pitch event at Microsof company – September 4 8/7: The next Great Entrepreneurial Opportunity: How to name Market White Space Guidelines of VCs and Private Fairness Funds in Deal Sourcing College Student/ Yale Entrepreneurs/ Tech Event, 7/31 When Arnold Schwarzenegger first located America and started becoming the world's most successful bodybuilder, he and fellow bodybuilder Franco Columbu worked during the day as bricklayers. Effectively, their work was their workout. Plus, of course, they hit a fitness center hard and heavy.   Unfortunately, most people are not that lucky --- we work hunched over our computers in office jobs which detract from our wellbeing, instead of helping our wellbeing. My fellow workers at ff Business capital and I want to work in an office which are working in an office job a workout -- a (partial) substitute for visiting a gym. We think there's a way to design office work so that physical fitness is integrated throughout every day. We'd Christian Louboutin High Boots value your opinions on how to do this. The method by which most people stay in shape is fundamentally broken. They work a desk job for 8-12 hours, and then go to a gym three times a week for 45 minutes to (supposedly offset) that desk job. As the new York Times recently wrote, sitting eliminates. According to research done by the Vermont Board of Education, exercise is not only healthy for you, but it also increases your productivity. Increased blood circulation leads to greater cognitive abilities -- the Greeks knew this. The idea of making the white receiver collar office a healthier environment has begun to enter mainstream social consciousness. A small number of offices in the united states have slowly begun to endorse the idea of exercising while doing a white receiver collar job (not before or after), e. g., walking on a treadmill while doing all of your job at Mutual of Omaha. An additional incentive to remaking the workplace into a healthy, exercise-supportive environment is the cost benefit. We think that many of the design changes we envision cost little or nothing, and can save us and we money on their health care in the long run. More on this below. We just moved from our earlier office to take over another floor in our building at 989 sixth Avenue, a 5, 000 sq foot space. We had the posh of designing this office from a blank record, because it was completely empty when we moved in. We're filling it with your own team, plus a couple of startups in our portfolio (Parse. of all and Phone. com) -- and soon other startups that we'd be honored relating to our future portfolio. First, here are our core operating principles: - Healthy alternatives should be truly viable alternatives, not luxury products. Almost all of our ideas cost the same or less than setting up a regular office. - Motion is preferable to no motion; stasis eliminates. (I would call that a life principle, not just a fitness principle. )- Standing is healthier than sitting. Excess sitting can even shorten your life. - Standing on a flat work surface is healthier than standing on a distorted surface. Up to a third of women suffer permanent problems as a result of their prolonged wearing of heels, ranging from hammer toes and bunions to irreversible damage to leg tendons. Similarly, men and women who wear shoes with even low heels also suffer adverse effects. We want to make an office receptive to men and women wearing whatever shoes they like, including but not limited to comfortable shoes without heels, also known as "minimal shoes". Our portfolio company BetterWorks, an employee perks and rewards solution, often points to Gallup research showing higher profits, sales, and customer loyalty from companies with higher proposal. Engagement itself is a proven byproduct of wellness, and as recently reported by the World Economic Forum: "Employees are eight times more likely to be engaged when wellness is a priority at work. "Based on these core principles, here are some features we are placing at the office: Desk Setup Every person at the office will have either 3 setups: - A standing desk (~$200-$750) with a anti-fatigue comfort mat (~$20-$40). (more reading). For a look at a typical standing desk configuration, click here. - An exercise ball (~$40) to take a seat on in place of a conventional chair. Research has found that exercise balls help build core stability muscles and, in turn, lower back pain and injury. We'll also get a ball base for each exercise ball, to stop the balls running around loose. The cost for this combination is much less than the usual conventional office chair. We like the Trainerball, which has ball exercises printed directly on your ball. See 10 Reasons to use an Exercise Ball as Your Chair. - A conventional-seated office chair (~$150-$700). We want to encourage individuals to have multiple large computer screens at each desk, space and budget enabling. We will also encourage telephone headsets (~$90-250), which are more ergonomically sound than the usual standard telephone set up. Multiple computer screens increase productivity and efficiency. We will also offer each person at the office an ergonomic desk keyboard. We suggest one of these, in ascending order of distance from a conventional keyboard: - Goldtouch Adjustable Keyboard ($95)- Kinesis Advantage Keyboard ($269)- Datahand($995)    For a mouse, we really like the Designer Appliances E Quill AirO2bic mouse ($90). Another option for data input is dictation software and mic, such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking (~$50). We also suggest people consider using: - Hand grippers (~$15) for flexing during phone calls to relieve stress and improve grip strength. - Wobble boards (~$55) for use when at a standing desk. - Pedometers (~$20) or pedometer apps, for tracking miles walked per day. People wearing a pedometer walk about 27% more per day than people not wearing a pedometer. ShoesPeople in our office can wear whatever they want as long as they are reasonably modest and wash regularly. (We do draw the line at nudists on the late shift. ) We definitely do not want an office in which people feel pressure to wear any particular type of clothing, including but not limited to high heel pumps or even low heels. Personally, I like minimalist or 'barefoot-style' shoes. I particularly like the Sockwas ($50), which look like inconspicuous athletic shoes, and the Vibram Fivefingers ($83-92), which look like gecko feet, for training. However, we observe that not all offices will be as tolerant of idiosyncratic footwear. When I'm in a fundraising meeting or other more conservative environment, I wear my Bally Pakos (style 6152604), which have the preferred minimal sole of any mens' business shoe There is. I'm impressed by Sergey Brin's aplomb; he's appeared at several meetings wearing his Vibram Fivefingers. As the old ruse goes, the difference between crazy and unusual is only a few million dollars. Conference rooms and meetings We are setting up three conference rooms: one with exercise balls as chairs (~$40-$150); one conference room with a standing conference table (~$950 on up) and anti-fatigue rugs; and one conventional conference room with conventional office chairs. I've seen research that indicates standing meetings run much faster than sitting meetings. In addition to the alternative conference rooms, when the New York weather allows and when a meeting topic doesn't require taking extensive notes, we will have walking meetings. Office Setup Given that social capital correlates with physical health (see Bowling Alone), we want to encourage people at the office to get to know one another. At top of a cubicle, we'll create an office map showing the names in our portfolio companies, and the photos of the employees that act on each. Some other ideas we like, but can't execute in our office for logistical reasons: - A shower, for people to clean up after jogging / biking to work. - Pull-up bars (~$30), for routine pull-ups/muscle-ups when you have an occasion. In our office most of the doorjambs are glass, but if we expand to another floor organic beef have the option of installing pull-up bars on doorjambs made of wood. New York startup Workmarket has a pullup machine right at the front of their office, with a list by it of the records set by different people who have visited a cubicle. - We also looked into treadmill companies (~$400-$2, 000). The user walks slowly while talking to clients, writing proposals, checking email, or any other activity one would normally do at a desk. You could integrate ReRev into these treadmills; the company retrofits fitness equipment with a tool that recycles excess energy created. At least for now, we've rejected this idea because of our concern about noise pollution. -- A snooze room, for when we just require a little rest. - A corporate gym. In lieu in our own gym, we're going to investigate getting a corporate discount at a neighborhood gym. - IdeaPaint has changed a new kind of paint that enables any wall to be used as a dry wipe off board. This new technology encourages more open dialogue and presentation at meetings as no one is isolated from the board, and is particularly very economical. We likely won't need this, because our conference rooms have glass walls. Food and SnacksIn the holistic spirit in our initiative, we want to introduce balanced diet options into our work place when we serve food. Among the writers we like on this topic are John Durant of the Hunter-Gatherer Blog and Michael Pollan, author of the Omnivore's Dilemma. Both of them advocate for all-natural, organic, healthier alternatives to the more common industrialized foods. Here is a list of snacks that we think are in step with our food philosophy and appropriate as hors d'oeuvres, for example, when we host our periodic invitation-only idea dinners: -- organic vegetables, e. grams., edamame, avocados, carrots, celery- organic fruit, both fresh and dried- dips: guacamole, bean dips, hummus, organic sugar-free applesauce- low-fat bachelor's pad cheese/yogurt- mixed nuts, unsalted- mini brown rice/sesame cakes, unsaltedOne last idea that we made our minds up to integrate into the new office, which we believe will be very popular, is that we will serve free beer and/or red on Fridays. Studies claim that light to moderate alcohol consumption can be quite healthy, particularly for the heart. TravelBecause white collar work often involves travel, we are also encouraging our employees to take a fitness routine while on the road, since travel normally impedes ones regular exercise routine. We encourage we to bring whatever equipment helps them to stay fit on the road, e. grams., a travel workout kit. Technology As investors in early-stage technology companies, we are particularly interested in some of the new technologies that have emerged that promote fitness, and we'll promote their use. For example: - Camspace, an ff collection company, allows everyday objects to regulate a pc's actions through use of standard web-cams. At the front of a cubicle, in lieu of the classic Foosball table, we'll set up a Camspace game. - BetterWorks offer large company group-buying for small businesses to take advantage of, for example, corporate gym discounts. -- Games or apps that promote fitness, e. grams., Keas, Fitocracy, Runkeeper, Nexercise, Christian Louboutin etc. Some of these apps leverage game mechanics to promote fitness, and those game movement are particularly powerful if everyone in an office signs up for settled app. More Sweeping Ideas We have a lot of other ideas which are probably too radical for our office; these ideas might make some people uncomfortable. However, you could possibly use some of these ideas in your own home/office. -- A shoes-discouraged policy, perhaps with a shoe ledge (~$30-$300) on the job entrance. In most Japanese homes, no one wears shoes. Lloyd Blankfein, today CEO of Goldman Sachs, famously used to wear just his socks around the office. Victor Niederhoffer, a prominent investor, had an indication at the entrance to his Park Avenue office, saying, "Please remove your shoes. " -- Squat toilets. These are extremely common in Asia, but highly unusual in the usa. Squatting when going to the bathroom is significantly healthier than sitting on a conventional western toilet. -- Group morning exercises. Many Japanese people workplaces start with a fixed set of morning calisthenics. However, we think this won't be well received in our working environment.   Rejected Ideas We looked into a lot of other ideas not listed here, which we rejected as not being based on research/sound reasoning. One idea we looked into and had hear about was 'full array lighting. ' We had heard that this new technology, which tries to simulate natural sunlight, was supposed to enhance productivity. Ultimately, though, we rejected the idea as multiple studies found inconclusive evidence on its benefits. We also considered adding home air cleaners and ionizers, which remove pollen, dirt, dust allergens, and allergens. However, a prominent study showed that such home air cleaners often produce ozone which could be damaging to the human body, negating any real benefit. We decided against including them. We looked into the new 2bU brand of health-focused vending machines. You’re able to send mission is to only provide "Organic, Gluten free, Vegan, Kosher, Locally produced, Performance driven, Allergen free" products. However, their products looked too processed for our preferences. Next Steps Winston Churchill said, "The Americans will always do the right thing. Christian Louboutin Bianca 140 Python Pumps.. after they've exhausted all the alternatives. " We've now reached the purpose that 63. 1% of adults in the U. S. were either overweight or obese just last year; we're truly at the point of exhausting all alternatives. As my wife says, "The US doesn't have a debt problem; we have a healthcare problem. inch The rebounding movement towards a healthier lifestyle will create significant investment opportunities, and we're actively looking for those that fit our portfolio, as well as those that benefit we. Our investment in BetterWorks was in part driven by our belief in the importance of employee benefits in a tight labor market for highly qualified people. We'd love your insights on the else we should put in the office---and that which you invest in! We thank Duncan MacDonald-Korth, Captain, University of Oregon Men's Tennis Team, for his help researching this blog post. (Sergey Brin wearing Vibram Five Fingers photo courtesy Charlie Jurvetson)This story originally appeared on David Teten's blog.