Working Remote? These Small Design Hacks Beat Willpower Every Time
That means in 2025, even office-first organizations need to support employee well-being in every setting. Motivation campaigns and corporate perks have a place, but research points to a bigger opportunity: design choices that reduce friction wherever people work. A 2025 Lancet Public Health umbrella review found that small environmental shifts and behavioral prompts reliably reduce sedentary time, with modest individual reductions that add up across a workforce.
In today's workplace reality, physical activity does not just happen. It must be enabled across environments. With growing evidence that well-being improves performance, treat movement and well-being as a business imperative by harnessing practical environmental cues to prompt it.
Whether you are shaping corporate wellness strategy or are home with a sick child yourself, use small defaults that make movement the easy choice.
Why Remote Work Makes Movement Hard
Working from home offers flexibility but removes many natural reasons to move. Without a commute, hallway conversations or walking to meetings, movement often falls off the radar. The result is longer stretches of sitting and fewer built-in somatic resets during the day. Perhaps surprisingly, post-COVID studies confirm higher sedentary time and lower activity with WFH, which is why environment and design matter at home as well as in the office.
Bridging the gap between in-office and remote work doesn't require a radical shift. Even brief physical activity breaks can support clearer thinking. The takeaway from the research is clear: design beats willpower.
How to Design Movement Into a Remote Work Day
With that in mind, the next step is to build behavior change that brings movement into the workday.
If you work remotely, consider the following practical suggestions to add physical activity without adding time. If you lead employee experience, use these low-cost levers to add movement that supports WFH productivity.
1) Engineer Small Wins Into Daily Habits
Tie small cues to tiny movements so the behavior runs on autopilot. In this context the aim is not fitness; it's harnessing opportunities to interrupt prolonged sitting and boost mental clarity.
2) Use Perks and Stipends as Prompts for Movement
Corporate perks should prompt action rather than sit unused. Thoughtful choices can create cues for movement during the workday.
3) Design the Meeting Environment. One Walking or Off-Screen Call
This is a design choice, not a wellness reminder. Adjust the meeting environment so at least one routine call each week becomes movement-friendly. A small format change supports attention, energy and idea flow without adding time.
Accessibility Note: When conventional movement is not feasible, suggest diaphragmatic breathing, upper body stretching or taking regular screen breaks.
Why These Remote Work Strategies Move the Needle
This isn't an overhaul of well-being or productivity strategy. It's optimization with intentional design. Build movement into the remote work day with one small cue at a time. Start with a refill, a meeting or a nudge. Behavior shifts through smarter defaults, not stronger willpower. It works across remote, hybrid and in-office settings. And when done well, it supports better individual productivity and mobilizes the workforce.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fast Company
7 hours ago
- Fast Company
How to stop stress from hijacking your productivity
BY Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 8:33 Do you ever have those weeks where you feel you've gotten nothing done? You're staring at your screen, the same paragraph you've read three times still making no sense. Your mind drifts to that looming deadline, the difficult conversation with your manager, leaving before 3 to avoid a horrible commute, or the growing pile of unread emails. Sound familiar? You're not alone. Almost half (43%) of Americans report feeling more anxious than they did the previous year, with workplace pressures playing a significant role in this epidemic of stress. The new brand of stress that 80% of workers report centers around productivity anxiety at work according to a recent study. The very stress that pushes us to work harder is now sabotaging our ability to perform well. Understanding this paradox—and more importantly, knowing how to break free from it—could be the key to reclaiming both your productivity and peace of mind. The Science of Stress: Your Brain Under Siege Not surprisingly, the biggest culprit of productivity anxiety is stress. When stress hits, your body doesn't distinguish between a charging lion and a challenging quarterly review. The same ancient alarm system kicks in, flooding your system with cortisol—the primary stress hormone that can transform from helpful motivator to harmful hijacker. Cortisol levels peak in the early morning as part of the cortisol awakening response, then decrease throughout the day. But chronic workplace stress disrupts this natural rhythm, keeping cortisol elevated when it should be declining. The result? A brain struggling to perform its most essential workplace functions, including just seeing things properly. Research reveals the cognitive toll is severe. One study found that acute increases in corticosteroid levels are associated with cognitive decrements in both attention and memory. Three Ways Stress Sabotages Your Focus 1. The Working Memory Meltdown Your working memory—the mental workspace where you juggle information, solve problems, and make decisions—is particularly vulnerable to stress. Tasks that engage and rely on working memory seem to be particularly sensitive to pressure demands, possibly because working memory requires sustained focus and attention that acute pressure might disrupt. This explains why, under stress, you might forget what you just read or struggle to connect ideas that normally flow effortlessly. 2. The Attention Hijack All theories about choking under pressure involve the reallocation of attention away from the task at hand. Some researchers suggest stress pulls your attention toward the uncomfortable feelings it creates, while others argue it makes you hyperaware of your own performance, paradoxically impairing it. Either way, your focus fractures. 3. The Productivity Anxiety Spiral Since modern workplaces have birthed this new phenomenon of 'productivity anxiety, ' there has been a significant uptick in employees reporting a feeling that there is always more they should be doing, even if not humanly possible. This creates a vicious cycle where stress about productivity further impairs your ability to be productive, leading to more stress. Stress has a way of taking up your time by making you continuously worry about something that may or may not happen. Perhaps this scenario is best illustrated by my client Tim. Tim manages a large and critical function at an aerospace firm. With 16 direct reports, hundreds more in his organization, and a cadre of contractors, Tim is still the go-to for any technical questions or emergencies that arise. It wasn't until recently that I reminded Tim that a healthy number of direct reports for most leaders is no more than five, with far less technical work, and under far less work intensification that he perked up, realizing much of the problem he is managing is due to poor organizational design. 3 Evidence-Based Strategies to Reclaim Your Focus 1. Take a Walk Outside The research is compelling: stepping outside for a walk is one of the most accessible and effective tools for combating workplace stress and restoring focus. Studies show that spending at least 20 to 30 minutes immersed in a natural setting is associated with the biggest drop in cortisol levels. Even more impressive, compared to urban walks, nature walks resulted in decreased anxiety, rumination, and negative affect, as well as increased working memory performance. Walks either with or without music have mental health benefits. How to implement: Schedule a 20-minute walk outside during your workday, ideally in a green space. Can't access nature? Even urban walks help. The beauty is you don't need to power walk—or even walk; both walking and sitting outdoors improve cognitive performance, with elevated levels of relaxation during the intervention being the best predictor of improved performance. 2. Practice Strategic Stress Recovery Individuals who have a higher frustration tolerance, the ability to moderate their responses to stress in the moment, have the capacity to think clearly and effectively work through problems longer and engage in productive decision making. Having an awareness of being triggered by observing physical shifts like heart rate changes, or a sudden burning chest sensation when stress hits, is critical data. Once aware, intentional choices can be made that mitigate reactionary stress behaviors: stepping away from a tough problem temporarily or engaging in deep breathing for a few minutes are both research backed ways of mitigating stress in the moment. Those able to do so expand their frustration tolerance, build the capacity to moderate other stress reactions with confidence, and experience less negative long-term effects from their stress. How to implement: Build recovery periods into your workday, which will start to create muscle memory. When a problem becomes particularly intense, take note to feel in your body where the pressure mounts. Common areas of feeling bodily stress are chest, temples on either side of your head, neck, or stomach. Being attuned to this is critical. Once you're aware of stress building in your body, step away from the problem at hand, and take a break such as a five-minute walk, practice deep breathing, or engage in light stretching. After any intensive work or problem-solving sessions, these micro-recoveries help reset your stress response system. 3. Restructure Your Work Environment for Focus People who are stressed have difficulty focusing and find themselves getting caught in modes of thinking that perpetuate stress, such as worry and rumination. Combat this by creating environmental cues that support focus. Also an organized workspace has positive effects on distractions and ability to focus. How to implement: Establish clear boundaries between high-focus work and administrative tasks. Use time-blocking to protect your most cognitively demanding work for times when your cortisol is naturally lower (typically midmorning after cortisol has subsided). Create a 'focus ritual'—a consistent set of actions that signal to your brain it's time for deep work. Once or twice a week, block time on your calendar to clear your space of clutter, take out the trash, process any snail mail that comes in, and regularly delete files and screenshots no longer needed that sit on your screen. Such peripheral clutter cleaning makes clearer thinking possible, and it makes those things you need to find easier to find. Small steps with big impacts Job stress costs U.S. employers more than $300 billion annually due to absenteeism, turnover, decreased productivity—but the human cost is even greater. The good news? You don't have to accept chronic stress as an inevitable part of modern work life. Start small. Choose one strategy and commit to it for two weeks. Notice not just how you feel, but how you think—how ideas flow, how problems untangle, how focus sharpens. Because when you master the art of managing stress, you don't just survive the workday; you unlock your brain's full potential to create, innovate, and excel. Your focused, calm, and productive self is waiting. It's time to clear away the stress and let that person shine through. The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Samantha Wasserman, PCC, MA is the president and principal consultant of Growth Curve Consulting, an executive development and human capital consultancy offering a deeply committed, thorough set of services to help leaders and their teams through growth and change. Sam specializes in succession and the effective transition of leaders into more advanced, highly complex roles that create a greater impact on both business and society More
Forbes
3 days ago
- Forbes
Working Remote? These Small Design Hacks Beat Willpower Every Time
While not every organization offers hybrid work, most still have remote work days. Whether due to travel, illness or caregiving, working from home (WFH) and flexible workdays are a reality across industries. This flexibility can come with a higher likelihood of prolonged sitting and subsequently, a ripple effect on focus, energy and workday productivity That means in 2025, even office-first organizations need to support employee well-being in every setting. Motivation campaigns and corporate perks have a place, but research points to a bigger opportunity: design choices that reduce friction wherever people work. A 2025 Lancet Public Health umbrella review found that small environmental shifts and behavioral prompts reliably reduce sedentary time, with modest individual reductions that add up across a workforce. In today's workplace reality, physical activity does not just happen. It must be enabled across environments. With growing evidence that well-being improves performance, treat movement and well-being as a business imperative by harnessing practical environmental cues to prompt it. Whether you are shaping corporate wellness strategy or are home with a sick child yourself, use small defaults that make movement the easy choice. Why Remote Work Makes Movement Hard Working from home offers flexibility but removes many natural reasons to move. Without a commute, hallway conversations or walking to meetings, movement often falls off the radar. The result is longer stretches of sitting and fewer built-in somatic resets during the day. Perhaps surprisingly, post-COVID studies confirm higher sedentary time and lower activity with WFH, which is why environment and design matter at home as well as in the office. Bridging the gap between in-office and remote work doesn't require a radical shift. Even brief physical activity breaks can support clearer thinking. The takeaway from the research is clear: design beats willpower. How to Design Movement Into a Remote Work Day With that in mind, the next step is to build behavior change that brings movement into the workday. If you work remotely, consider the following practical suggestions to add physical activity without adding time. If you lead employee experience, use these low-cost levers to add movement that supports WFH productivity. 1) Engineer Small Wins Into Daily Habits Tie small cues to tiny movements so the behavior runs on autopilot. In this context the aim is not fitness; it's harnessing opportunities to interrupt prolonged sitting and boost mental clarity. 2) Use Perks and Stipends as Prompts for Movement Corporate perks should prompt action rather than sit unused. Thoughtful choices can create cues for movement during the workday. 3) Design the Meeting Environment. One Walking or Off-Screen Call This is a design choice, not a wellness reminder. Adjust the meeting environment so at least one routine call each week becomes movement-friendly. A small format change supports attention, energy and idea flow without adding time. Accessibility Note: When conventional movement is not feasible, suggest diaphragmatic breathing, upper body stretching or taking regular screen breaks. Why These Remote Work Strategies Move the Needle This isn't an overhaul of well-being or productivity strategy. It's optimization with intentional design. Build movement into the remote work day with one small cue at a time. Start with a refill, a meeting or a nudge. Behavior shifts through smarter defaults, not stronger willpower. It works across remote, hybrid and in-office settings. And when done well, it supports better individual productivity and mobilizes the workforce.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Forbes
Largest 4-Day Workweek Study Says Mental Health Benefits Outweigh
The largest study ever performed on the four-day workweek finds employees gain mental health ... More benefits. Biggest trial of four-day work week finds workers are happier and feel just as productive Compressing five days of work into four can create stress, but the benefits outweigh the downsides, sprawling study shows. By Workers reported better mental health after they switched to a four-day work week without a reduction in pay. Credit: Getty Moving to a four-day work week without losing pay leaves employees happier, healthier and higher-performing, according to the largest study of such an intervention so far, encompassing six countries1. The research showed that a six-month trial of working four days a week reduced burnout, increased job satisfaction and improved mental and physical health. The study's authors had wondered whether a condensed working week would add to employees' stress. 'When workers want to deliver the same productivity, they might work very rapidly to get the job done, and their well-being might actually worsen,' says lead author Wen Fan, a sociologist at Boston College in Massachusetts. 'But that's not what we found.' Instead, staff members' stress levels fell. The study was published today in Nature Human Wed, Jul 23, 11:54 AM (7 days ago) to me Hi Bryan,Earlier this week, findings on the impact of the 4 day work week were revealed in Nature Human Behaviour, taken from nearly 3000 employees at 141 companies over a six month period. Work time reduction via a 4-day workweek finds improvements in workers' well-being Time spent on the job is a fundamental aspect of working conditions that influences many facets of individuals' lives. Here we study how an organization-wide 4-day workweek intervention—with no reduction in pay—affects workers' well-being. Organizations undergo pre-trial work reorganization to improve efficiency and collaboration, followed by a 6-month trial. Analysis of pre- and post-trial data from 2,896 employees across 141 organizations in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the USA shows improvements in burnout, job satisfaction, mental health and physical health—a pattern not observed in 12 control companies. Both company-level and individual-level reductions in hours are correlated with well-being gains, with larger individual-level (but not company-level) reductions associated with greater improvements in well-being. Three key factors mediate the relationship: improved self-reported work ability, reduced sleep problems and decreased fatigue. The results indicate that income-preserving 4-day workweeks are an effective organizational intervention for enhancing workers' well-being. Workers reported feeling happier, with reduced burnout, increased job satisfaction and improved mental and physical health. Yet Isaac Kohen, founder and CPO at Teramind - a leading provider of workforce analytics for insider risk and productivity, questions the validity of the study as follows: "While the improved employee wellbeing reported in this study is encouraging, the absence of objective productivity measurement represents a critical gap that could mislead organizations into making costly operational decisions based on incomplete data. Employee self-reporting on productivity is valuable for understanding sentiment, but it can't provide the granular insights businesses need to justify such significant changes to stakeholders and boards. When 90% of companies chose to continue their four-day schedules, were they making this decision based on hard metrics or just improved morale? Real productivity measurement requires analyzing actual work patterns like application usage, task completion rates, and workflow efficiency. Organizations, in order to properly evaluate productivity of 5-day vs 4-day weeks, need to establish baseline metrics during traditional five-day schedules, then continuously monitor and compare performance throughout four-day implementations. According to a 2023 survey conducted by Zippia, a good productivity percentage is somewhere between 70-75% and the average worker only spends 4 hours and 12 minutes actively working during an 8-hour shift. Without this objective data, organizations risk implementing compressed schedules based on optimism rather than evidence. Feeling more productive and being more productive aren't always the same thing, and only comprehensive measurement can bridge that perception gap to determine whether four-day work weeks truly serve both employee wellbeing and business objectives." If you plan on writing about this, please feel free to use the above would also be happy to share the impact of a growing remote workforce, which has increased nearly fivefold since 2019, and why the cost of cybersecurity breaches from remote setups is significantly higher than office-based advise if you would like to schedule a call with Isaac or have further questions for
