I collect articles that catch my eye, squirreling them away in folders on my desktop. They’re usually related to work – health, wellness, benefits, retirement – but didn’t make it into a longer format. Here’s a sampling as we slide deeper into February:

Have stairwell, will climb: The stairwell in your office building could be your next cold-weather (or hot-weather) fitness center. Researchers at McMaster University studied people doing short bouts of intense stair-climbing. "Short" means taking no more than 10 minutes (including a warm-up, a cool down, and a recovery period). Participants ran the stairs three times a week for six weeks, and it worked -- they improved their cardiovascular fitness. Exercise for Anyone, Anytime: Researchers Find Brief, Intense Stair Climbing is a Practical Way to Boost Fitness -- Newswise

Busyness as status symbol: Forget the luxury car or the expensive clothes -- now the new status marker is how busy you are. Researchers at the Columbia Business School studied how Americans rate the social status of a person who has a full (or even overloaded) work schedule versus a person with a lot of leisure time. People who worked long hours were ranked as having a higher social status than those fun-loving types enjoying life. The researchers noted that “by telling others that we are busy and working all the time, we are implicitly suggesting that we are sought after, which enhances our perceived status.” Whether being crazy-busy is good for the body and soul is another matter. Why Americans Are So Impressed By Busyness -- Harvard Business Review