Whilst working from home can initially make life easier, it can also be bad for your health. You may not miss your daily commute but your body probably does!

In this article I'd like to focus on the negative impact home working can have, specifically on your physical health.

As a result of covid, there has been a huge increase in home working and I've spoken to dozens of people who are already noticing the negative physical effects of working from home.

The two most common complaints are back pain and weight gain. This is serious stuff, not niggles, and I've had a few people tell me their backs are "wrecked" through working on laptops on a sofa, makeshift tables and even ironing boards.

If you consider the combination of working with bad ergonomics and a significant reduction in physical activity it is easy to see how even the fittest people can suffer from back, shoulder or neck pain.

For those of us who track our daily steps (yes, I'm obsessed!), it's common for a regular commuter to reach a healthly 12,000 to 15,000 steps per day through the journey to and from work, walking around the office and popping out for lunch.

How does that compare to a home worker's daily steps? Well, I have spoken to people who've dropped by around 80% to just 2,000 to 3,000 steps if they stay in their homes.

The mid to long term effects of this reduced activity on our physical state does not make good reading and as we reach our late 30's our bodies become somewhat less forgiving too!

Many businesses are now acting to help home workers create better ergonomics by providing adjustable chairs, desks and ergonomic accessories. With the best intentions, I've rarely seen a chair used properly and all it does is recreate the bad posture you had at work in your home but with less activity and more biscuits!

A Lifespan treadmill desk will allow you to work whilst walking with a perfect posture, and help get your activity levels higher than when you commuted! At just 1.2mph you can walk over 4,300 steps and burn around 100 calories per hour more than sitting.

We know space can be tight at home but a treadmill desk may take less floor space than you think and desks are available in a range of different colours and sizes.

There has never been a better reason to invest in a treadmill desk. If you would like to discuss any aspect of walking and working please get in touch.

Seen below is our Lifespan TR5000-DT3 home worker bundle including a 1600mm white desk.