By Michael O’Connor
World-Herald Staff Writer
Omaha World Herald

From the waist up, Terri Rasmussen looked like a typical office worker as she tapped on her keyboard and slid her mouse.

But from the waist down, she looked like a woman hitting the gym.

As she talked on her headset and typed, she walked on a treadmill. It was equipped with a curved desk top to hold her computer, allowing her to walk as she worked in a call center at Mutual of Omaha’s midtown headquarters.

Since July, 16 workers have walked and worked during their regular eight-hour shifts. They started walking short periods and by mid-August had hit two hours per day, all part of a trial program by Mutual to see if it’s worth buying more machines.

Walking and working may sound odd, and even the company that makes the machines admits there is a weirdness factor.

But Mutual is part of a small but growing number of employers nationally trying out the $4,000 machines, called Walkstations. Mutual bought four and has ordered four more.

First National Bank recently checked out the machines at Mutual. The bank has no immediate plans to purchase any but might consider getting some, said Brenda Dooley, who handles corporate real estate for First National.

Mutual says the goal of its voluntary program is to help workers get healthier. The company knows that healthier employees miss less work and experience lower health care costs.

And sitting at a desk all day isn’t exactly the path to good health.

“We want to give them an alternative,” said Peggy Rivedal, a nurse and manager of Mutual’s health services.

The workers walk as many as four miles per day on the job. Some have lost weight. One diabetic has dropped her blood sugar level. Some say they have more energy.

Rasmussen dropped about five pounds walking three to four miles per day.

Friends and family teased her when she first hit the treadmill. They thought it was a little silly.

“Now they are jealous because they wish they had something like this at their work,” she said.

On a recent afternoon, the 42-year-old Rasmussen seemed to have no trouble combining exercise and work.

“Thank you for calling customer service. My name is Terri,” she said into her phone headset.

She tapped on her keyboard as her white athletic shoes softly landed on the treadmill.

“May I please have your policy number?” she asked.

She typed and moved her mouse. Her eyes focused on her computer screen.

“Let me just get that (policy) up,” she said, her hair swaying as she walked.

Her desktop had all the familiar office items: phone, calculator, even a bottle of hand sanitizer. There was one exception — a white fan about 6 inches in diameter that hummed as she walked.

Mutual is tracking the workers to see if they can maintain productivity and get in better shape. So far, productivity has stayed strong, Rivedal said.

Before the employees began walking this summer, Mutual weighed them and checked their cholesterol and blood pressure. Mutual will soon check those measures again for improvement.

If the testing shows good results, Mutual might purchase even more treadmills, but isn’t sure yet how many, Rivedal said.

Rivedal said more employees might be walking and working in the future, but certainly not all 3,500 who work at the company’s headquarters. Many have jobs for which they need to regularly leave their desks.

Mutual, she said, considers the treadmills just another piece of its wellness program, which includes encouraging employees to use the stairs instead of the elevator and providing healthy food in the cafeteria.

The Walkstations are produced by Details, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company. The company has sold 335 of them since last fall, said Dave Kagan, director of marketing and communications.

The machines have been sold to large employers such as Mutual and smaller ones such as a law firm in Minneapolis and an advertising agency in Detroit.

The machines — situated in the same office areas as the regular cubicles and nonwalking workers — have a maximum speed of 2 mph and are quieter than those at health clubs.

Rasmussen, who calls herself the “most uncoordinated person in the world,” said she had no problem figuring out how to walk and work at the same time.

Carm Monzu, another Mutual employee, said it was tricky at first. The 50-year-old said that as she typed, her fingers wanted to keep pace with her feet. She hit the wrong keys a few times, but after a couple of hours on the treadmill, her body and mind adjusted.

Monzu, who has diabetes, said she has lost about 7 pounds since she started walking at work. She also said her blood sugar level has dropped, and she has more energy.

Even moderate exercise such as walking releases hormones that can make a person feel more energetic and relaxed, said Anthony Bull, associate professor of exercise science at Creighton University.

He’s not surprised that the walkers have lost weight. A 150-pound adult who walks four miles per day, five days a week, would burn about a half-pound of fat per week if there’s no change in diet, he said. That’s 2 pounds per month.

Bull said merging work and exercise is a great idea. People often say they don’t have time for exercise, but they wouldn’t have that excuse if they could get it out of the way on the job, he said.

“That’s one less thing you have to do when you get home.” ,

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