Regular walking helps you work better

The study involved 100 Japanese workers who worked remotely at least one day a week. The researchers assessed the participants’ daily physical activity levels, including the number of steps taken, light and moderate exercise, as well as sedentary behavior, stress responses, and work productivity. The study used the mediation method to analyze the data, which allows for the identification of indirect associations, such as whether walking directly affects productivity or whether it does so through reducing stress.

The study found that the more steps a person took during the day, the lower their stress responses were. At the same time, a higher level of stress was directly correlated with lower labor productivity. The analysis confirmed that the daily step count was associated with work efficiency through the reduction of stress. Increased physical activity contributed to a decrease in tension, which in turn had a positive impact on work performance.

However, not all physical activities had the same effect. The experts did not find significant indirect associations for light exercise, moderate-intensity exercises, or time spent sitting. This suggests that regular walking plays a special role in maintaining mental and emotional well-being and productivity during remote work.

The significance of these findings is that it is not necessary to engage in specific sports to improve well-being and work performance. Simply moving more throughout the day, such as taking short walks between tasks or getting outside, is enough. For remote workers, this is a practical and accessible way to maintain balance.

In practice, there are various ways to maintain activity: setting reminders for breaks, conducting some meetings on the go, replacing short commutes with walking routes, and tracking daily activity to see progress and stay motivated.