Walking On Air Shoes at Work
Cheap work shoes cost your organization in the long run. It shows up in employee turnover, lower productivity, and injury claims. Walking On Air is a podiatrist-designed work shoe, custom-fit to every employee and engineered to minimize those organizational drains.
Replacing a frontline employee costs about 40% of their salary. Pain from standing eliminates hours of weekly productivity.
Sophisticated footwear engineered by a foot surgeon (3+ years of development) and fitted to each employee's foot scan, supporting and cushioning them for the whole shift.
01 — The cost you already carry
For hospital staff, first-line responders, flight crews, hospitality, and teachers, it is more than half. That load does not stay in their feet. It moves to your employee turnover report, your overtime line, and your claims history.
Cost to replace one frontline employee
Cost to replace one staff nurse
Productive time lost to working through lower-body pain, among workers who have it
Annual U.S. workers' comp cost of same-level falls, the second-costliest cause of disabling injury
02 — Retention
Nobody writes “physical wear” on the exit form. In one survey of bedside nurses, those who had switched jobs reported more foot pain than those who stayed. Every one of those departures costs you a recruiter, a training cycle, and months of reduced output.
For a workforce of 1,000 with 20% annual turnover and a $45,000 average salary, turnover costs about $3.6 million a year. Putting every one of them in WOA under our Discount Partnership costs about $46,000. That is 1.3% of the problem. It pays for itself if 3 of those 200 people stay.
One point of nurse turnover costs the average hospital $295,000 a year. Covering a quarter of the price on 500 pairs costs about $23,000.
03 — Productivity
Workers with job-related lower-body pain report being about a third less effective on shift, and lose another four hours a week to absence. You are paying full wages for those hours. A shoe that holds up through hour ten can give some time back.
less effective on shift, among workers with job-related lower-body pain
more lost to absence every week by the same workers
04 — Run your break-even
We will not promise you a turnover number. We will show you how small the bet is, then measure it with you.
05 — How the shoe works
A soft cushioned shoe feels good in the store and lets the foot collapse by month two. A stiff shoe stabilizes the foot but punishes it on hard, man-made floors. Foot fatigue goes down when one shoe does both: cushioning and support.
A removable cork-and-foam insole (comfort & support) under a full-grain leather upper shapes to the wearer’s feet.
A reinforced heel counter and nylon shank keep the heel upright and the arch from rolling in as the hours add up.
Slip-resistant outsole. Professional styles that look as good as they feel.
Every pair is made to order from the employee's own scan: eight measurements per foot, taken on their phone in 30 seconds. Left and right can be different sizes and widths, because most feet are. If it doesn’t fit right, we remake them for free.
This isn’t a boring work shoe. Our sophisticated styles will appeal to your employees and provide higher satisfaction.
06 — The doctor behind it
Dr. Jay LeBow, DPM, FACFAS, is a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon, a co-founder of Walking On Air and our Chief Biomedical Officer. He has treated patients for 35 years and spent 25 seasons as team podiatrist for the Baltimore Orioles, keeping professional athletes on their feet through a 162-game season. Every WOA shoe starts with his requirements for how a foot should be held and cushioned over a long day.
07 — Three ways to partner
We take 25% off. You cover 25%. Your employee pays half.
On a $185 pair: WOA discounts $46.25, you contribute $46.25, your employee pays $92.50.
Our shoe, your mark. Employees order directly from us.
We add your logo to a WOA style and set up a private store page for your organization. Your people scan, order, and get support from us directly.
A shoe designed for your organization alone.
Your colors, your materials, your uniform spec, built on the WOA platform and fit to every employee individually.
08 — Who it is for
Twelve-hour shifts, hard floors, the highest replacement costs in the building.
Long posts and patrols in a shoe that still passes inspection.
Gate to gate, terminal to cabin, in uniform.
Front-of-house polish with a work shoe underneath.
On their feet from first bell to dismissal.
Concrete floors, all day.
Then look at the numbers. We supply the shoes at cost, the scan, the survey, and the readout.
09 — FAQs
