Effects of Installing Height-adjustable Workstations on Office Workers Workplace Sitting Time and Productivity

Sedentary behaviour has been found to be ubiquitous within the workplace and due to the negative consequences of sedentary behaviour upon health, research has began to look at ways to reduce and interrupt sedentary behaviour.

Interventions that have introduced height-adjustable workstations into the workplace have been found to reduce sedentary behaviour. Some employees and employers are concerned that using height-adjustable workstations and trying to reduce workplace sedentary behaviour can lead to a loss of workplace productivity.

The present study looked at the effects of installing height-adjustable workstations on occupational sitting time and workplace productivity in desk-based workers. Workplace activity was measured objectively using ActivPal accelerometers and productivity was measured via self-report measures. Measurements took place at baseline and four weeks after receiving the height-adjustable workstation.

Inclusion criteria

• age 18 to 65 years,
• working ≥0.6 full time equivalents,
• access to a work telephone and desktop computer with internet,
• not pregnant,
• no planned absence >1 week during the trial,
• not chair-bound or uniquely impaired such that reducing occupational sitting time was not feasible,
• no pre-existing musculoskeletal disorder.

Exclusion criteria

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