This Simple Habit Was Linked To Less Stress & Better Work Performance
One of the biggest perks of working from home is everything you don't have to do. No commute. No trekking across a parking lot. No walking to conference rooms on the other side of the office. No running out to grab lunch between meetings.
It's quite nice, but there's a tradeoff most of us never think about.
Without realizing it, many remote workers lose thousands of small, almost invisible movements throughout the day. You might still make it to your morning workout or evening Pilates class, yet spend nearly every hour in between sitting at your desk.
A new study1 suggests those missing steps may matter more than we realize. Researchers found that among remote and hybrid workers, simply taking more steps throughout the day was linked to lower stress and, in turn, better work performance. Surprisingly, the same wasn't true for higher-intensity exercise.
Researchers looked beyond workouts to everyday movement
The study included 100 adults who worked remotely at least one day each week. Instead of asking participants to estimate how active they were, researchers equipped them with accelerometers that objectively measured how much they moved each day. That allowed them to compare several different movement patterns, including daily steps, light physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous exercise, sedentary time, stress levels, and work performance.
The researchers wanted to see which type of movement actually seems to matter most for people working from home.
More daily steps were linked to lower stress & better work performance
They found that the people who accumulated more steps each day also reported lower levels of stress. Those lower stress levels were then associated with better work performance.
What's especially interesting is what didn't show the same pattern. Spending more time doing vigorous exercise wasn't independently linked to better work performance through stress reduction. Neither was light activity or simply spending less time sitting.
Instead, it was total daily steps that consistently stood out.
This doesn't mean workouts aren't worthwhile. Regular exercise remains one of the best things you can do for your heart, muscles, brain, and long-term health. Rather, the findings suggest there's something uniquely valuable about moving consistently throughout the day instead of concentrating all of your activity into a single hour.
Bringing movement back into your workday
If you work from home, chances are you don't need another intense workout. You might simply need more reasons to get out of your chair.
Some easy ways to rebuild those "lost" steps include:
- Start or end your workday with a 10- to 15-minute walk to replace your old commute
- Take phone calls while walking around your home or outside
- Walk for five minutes between meetings instead of immediately opening your next email
- Eat lunch away from your desk, then take a quick lap around the block before heading back
- Set a reminder to stand up and move every hour, even if it's just walking to refill your water bottle
The takeaway
We often think of movement in terms of exercise. Did we make it to the gym? Did we hit our workout? This study is a reminder that our bodies don't divide the day that way.
Every trip to the kitchen, every walk around the block, every lap while you're on a conference call counts toward the total amount you move. For people working remotely, those seemingly insignificant moments may be one of the simplest ways to reduce stress, feel better during the workday, and maybe even do better work in the process.
