The Importance of Employee Bodily Movements in Everyday Organizational Life

In this theoretical paper I proffer the concept of employee bodily movement to better understand how, why, and when moving around the corporate workplace has positive individual and organizational outcomes beyond physical well-being. Employee bodily movement is an in-between activity – such as walking from one meeting to another, or taking a walk in a nearby park – that can have positive outcomes, and to better understand how, why and when movements are important, I introduce four manifestations of movement: transition-related, recovery-related, visibility-related, and relational-related movement, and elaborate how and why movements relate to role clarifying, energy and cognitive resources, perspective taking and passive face time, and interpersonal attachments. In bringing back the human body and bodily movements to the corporate office, the concept of employee bodily movement emphasizes how and why movements in the corporate workplace – in an era of increased working-from-home arrangements - have important positive outcomes.