Foot Massagers for Under Your Desk

Question: Do you take off your shoes at work?

Some people might think it’s weird or socially unacceptable to take off your shoes at work, but if your job requires you to wear uncomfortable dress shoes or high heels as part of dress code, then I think taking off your shoes is perfectly fine. If you’re not standing or walking around, you don’t need shoes on. Period.

If you have your own office or cubicle, or even if your feet are hidden from customers behind a counter, I see no reason to torture yourself by not wearing shoes. It’s no different to me than women who wear high heels to a wedding, then switch to more comfortable flats or slippers for the reception.

And besides, you’ll be more productive at work if you feel physically comfortable!

Unless your feet smell like Kimmy Gibbler’s. Her smelly feet were a running joke on the show Full House and could clear a room or a car instantly. So, if your feet smell like hers, taking off your shoes at work will hurt others’ productivity more than it will make you feel good. Also, you need help. See a podiatrist. Now.

Anyway, now that we’ve established that it’s ok to take off your shoes in the workplace (unless you’re Kimmy Gibbler), let’s follow that to the next step. If it’s ok to take off your shoes to be comfortable, I say it’s ok to hide a foot massager under your desk at work. How much more productive will you be if you can get a foot massage while working on those reports? So much more productivity!

Best Under Desk Foot Massager

Which foot massage machine should you get to stash under your desk? Well, I can think of a couple of factors to keep in mind as you choose the perfect model.

First, it needs to (obviously), fit under a desk. That means anything that goes above the ankles is out. Similarly, you should probably eliminate anything with water (like a foot spa), since you’d have to get water for it, and you wouldn’t want to accidentally knock it over under your desk. Maintenance would not be happy. Trust me.

Second, any machine you’re using while you’re working probably needs to be quiet. If you have your own office, a little noise is probably ok, but if you’re imagining actually massaging your feet while talking to customers, or while taking client calls, you might consider a mechanical foot massage device like this.

Third, do you have power available at your desk? If you don’t, then something mechanical like the Moji 360 or the wooden roller massager pictured are good options. The Moji massager in particular is really popular for people dealing with plantar fasciitis, so if that’s an issue for you, stashing one of them under your desk is a great idea.

Fourth, like anything you’re taking to work, you want it to be low cost. This is probably less important if you have your own locked office, since (1) you can afford to replace it, and (2) you have better privacy, but if you work somewhere like a call center, or your desk is out in a public area, you wouldn’t want a co-worker to walk off with your massager!

So, these criteria should help narrow down your options quite a bit!

Recommendations:

My recommendations for best under desk electric foot massager are…(drumroll please…):

The Homedics FMS270H (lower price range, rubs soles of feet only) or the uComfy (little bit more expensive, but also does a Shiatsu massage on the sides and tops of your feet). Both are reasonably priced, small enough to easily fit under your desk, and well-reviewed, solid machines. Any of these portable battery-powered massagers might work too.

 

 

After all, why would you not want to be like the owner of this desk? (Look underneath 🙂  ) Even if your office setup is nowhere near this cool, you can still be comfortable!