Bit by bit, a more fit workplace

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Stance is a designer sock company in San Clemente. And the way Chief Executive Jeff Kearl sees it, creativity is the key to the company’s success in the competitive retail marketplace. He and the company’s co-founder set out to create a workspace that would feed his employees’ creative energy. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at that endeavor. The difference is clear, right at the front door. There are no suits and ties, no stodgy cubicles. Employees are encouraged to dress in whatever manner suits the duties for the day. Here, product designer Dillon Boyes works on a prototype display. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Kearl said the 4-year-old company has spent more than $100,000 to enhance the warehouse-based office. Amenities include game tables, a basketball court, a trampoline, a skateboarding area and showers. A gym and personal trainers are coming. In the background, you can see the office kitchen. The company employs a personal chef to prepare healthful breakfast and lunch offerings. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Employees are encouraged to take breaks and get in a workout -- even hit the nearby beach -- and come back to work refreshed and re-energized. It might be hard to believe, Kearl said, but there is “zero” abuse in the 35-employee company. In fact, he said, employees overcompensate for the perks by being especially diligent about putting in the work hours needed to get the job done. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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A healthy employee, Kearl said, is full of energy, productivity -- and creativity. “When you have a job that requires a tremendous amount of focus, sometimes the best thing you can do is take a break and get away from the computer,” he said. “Yes, this is a benefit to the employees. But it’s also a benefit to us.” Here, employees get in some hoop time in the middle of the work day. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Kearl said he is often faced with doubters, who wonder how any work can get done in a place like Stance. “The proof is in the pudding. We have extraordinary results. A healthy employee is going to perform way better.” (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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“Businesses are wired to want a ‘returnable investment,’” Kearl said. And investing in the health of your employees is “intangible. It’s fuzzy math.” But Kearl said he is absolutely convinced that Stance’s success is linked with the creative, healthful environment. As an example, he cited the decision to provide nutritious food and snacks on the premises. (Here, Kelly King, director of women’s marketing, munches on an apple while working at her desk.) “Really, the benefit is to us. They’re healthier, and they spend less time going out to eat.” (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

By Rene Lynch

Feb. 21, 2014 6:20 PM PT

Nearly all of us need to make more time for fitness. Finding that time, though, can seem impossible.

But what if you could wedge that workout in at work? If it sounds far-fetched (or a great way to get yourself fired), listen up.

Dr. James Levine, an obesity expert at the Mayo Clinic, says Americans don’t need to log more time at a gym. Instead, they need to banish their sedentary ways by incorporating easy bursts of activity from dawn to dusk.

FOR THE RECORD:
Workplace health: In today’s Saturday section, an article about exercising during the workday had listed Fitbit’s the Force as a recommended fitness tracker. The company announced after the section had gone to press that it is recalling the wristband device after complaints about skin rashes and burns.

He calls it NEAT fitness, which stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis. In layman’s terms, it means cranking up the body’s calorie-burning abilities by weaving in near-constant movement — such as standing, walking, even pacing — at every opportunity. Becoming a body in motion that stays in motion could help you burn 500 or more extra calories a day. Combine that with smart food choices, and we could be well on our way to reversing the nation’s ever-expanding waistline.

And Levine believes the best place to start is in the workplace.

If you’re rolling your eyes, you might be guilty of what Levine calls “1930s thinking, to see employees [and the workplace] as merely tools of productivity.” But “the really cool companies” — Google, Yahoo, Apple — “take the health and the happiness of their employees seriously,” Levine said.

It’s not just for altruistic reasons, of course. It’s easier to keep health costs in line when employees are healthier, and a healthier workforce is a more productive workforce, he said. “A healthy workplace is the way of the future.”

Such a future might resemble the San Clemente headquarters of Stance, an upscale sock company that tailors its line to Southern California’s snow, skate and surf culture.

Chief Executive Jeff Kearl says the 4-year-old company has spent more than $100,000 on employee perks such as a basketball court, a skateboard half-pipe, game tables and showers. A chef prepares healthful breakfasts and lunches. (On a recent Friday, employees rolled in to an array of freshly blended juices and homemade yogurt. Lunch revolved around a crunchy kale salad.) A gym, personal trainers and classes are coming shortly.

And it’s not unusual for employees to clear out and head for the beach (just up the street) when the waves are just right.

“It may be hard for people to believe, but we have zero abuse,” said Kearl, whose office runs by a “freedom and accountability” philosophy that loosely translates as: Just get your work done, OK?

Not every company is run like Kearl’s or will hire the likes of a Levine to revamp their culture and facilities to make health and fitness a priority. So we asked Levine to help us come up with some ideas to try now. For free.

We realize all these ideas won’t work for you.

But maybe a third of them will. And that would help you meet the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommendation that adults get at least 150 minutes a week of “moderate-intensity exercise” — the equivalent of walking at a pace of 20 minutes per mile.

If you have a suggestion to add to our list, let us know: Tag us on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #LATFit and #PedometerWars (See No. 28).

Rene.lynch@latimes.com

Bit by bit, a more fit workplace

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