WEBVTT

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- A new trend in offices
across the country,

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more and more people are
switching to fetal position desks

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so that they can cure up in a ball

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on the floor while they work.

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Aaron Vaughn has the story.

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- I'm here at the offices of
SlashForwarding Marketing,

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one of the many companies where employees

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are throwing out their chairs

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in favor of working
from the fetal position.

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Wellness experts say it's the best way

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to stay healthy and productive at work.

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- The human body isn't
meant to sit at a desk

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for six or seven hours.

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The natural position,
especially in the workplace,

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is to shutdown completely,
return to a womb-like state

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and rock back and forth
to soothe yourself.

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- [Aaron] A new study shows
that the healthiest way

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to deal with the penetrating
drudgery of the work day

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is to work from a comfortable surface,

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with your back curved, head tucked in,

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and your arms wrapped around you,

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to block out the outside world.

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- I work at a computer all day.

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Sitting in a chair, I found
that my neck would hurt,

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my back would hurt.

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I'd spend full days

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watching the minutes of my life slip away,

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- [Aaron] Company
president Robert Betindorf

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says the trend is catching
on with his employees.

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- We found that before we
switched over to these desks,

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employees were already
assuming the fetal position

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throughout the day, putting
their heads between their knees

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and shutting it all out for
even just a few minutes.

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It's what people naturally wanted to do.

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- [Aaron] Fetal position desks,
which are even popping up

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in offices like Google and Facebook,

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come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

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Some have adjustable heights,

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so you can cower underneath them,

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while more expensive options

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include a warm pulsating blanket

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for workers to wrap
themselves in to feel calm.

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But many people are making their own.

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- I've rigged this up so
I can type comfortably

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and my arms won't get tired.

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Plus it's got speakers,

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so I can listen to a
comforting voice saying,

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"Shh" over and over again.

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- The work day goes by a lot faster.

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I feel better, I have more energy,

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and I don't get that 2:30 feeling anymore,

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where I'm like, oh no, didn't
I want to be a novelist?

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Before I know it, I'm at
home, watching Netflix

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in a fetal position on my bed.

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- Some offices are rethinking
assigned seating altogether,

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letting employees work however
and wherever they want.

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The results, surprising collaborations

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and a free exchange of ideas.

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But if you're not ready to give up

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your traditional desk entirely,

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experts say you can still
get some of the benefits

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of fetal position desks
with a few simple exercises.

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- We recommend that all
workers take 20 to 30 minutes

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out of every day to
write the word "suicide"

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over and over again in a Google doc.

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Make that a part of your routine.

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- I've tried a fetal position desk myself

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and I can say, it's a great way

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to get through the fucking day.

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- Thanks, Aaron, I hate my job.

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Next up, new evidence suggests

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Shakespeare's plays may have been boring.