Seminar
The impact of office environment on physical behaviour – a field study
Tuesday 12 November, 13:15 - 14:30
Join the CTA seminar on Zoom
For Mau staff: NIB0814
A seminar about the impact of the work environment on sedentary and physical behaviour
Welcome to a seminar with Janice Hegewald and Martha Sauer from the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) in Berlin.
The seminar will address the impact of the work environment on sedentary and physical behaviour - results from a field study of desk workers (the SITFLEX study) and a systematic review of the impact of working from home.
The seminar is organised by the Centre for Work Life Studies (CTA).
Abstract for the seminar
The impact of work environment on sedentary and physical behaviour – results from a field study of desk-based workers (SITFLEX-study) and a systematic review about the influence of working from home
Sedentary behaviour (SB) is defined as any waking behaviour with a low energy expenditure (≤1.5 metabolic equivalents [METs]) while sitting, reclining or lying down. It is prevalent in Europe, especially in Germany, Benelux, and Scandinavian countries, and increased between 2013 and 2022 in persons aged 21-65 years. In desk work, a majority of working time is spent sedentary. At the same time, physical inactivity (PI) – which is not meeting the WHO recommendations for physical activity – is increasing in Europe. SB and PI are associated with disease (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes type 2) and musculoskeletal complaints. However, healthy working environments may help mitigate these unfavourable behaviours.
The impact of working environments like activity-based flex offices (AFOs) or working from home (WFH) on sedentary behaviour is not fully understood. Therefore, our research project focused on the differences in sitting and moving behaviours during working and leisure time in different working environments, like traditional open-plan offices (TOPs), AFOs, and WFH.
In this seminar, we will present the main results of our field study (SITFLEX) and our systematic review of the influence of WFH on SB and physical activity/PI. Our findings contribute to the planning of healthier workplaces for desk-based workers and take into account the increased use of flexible work arrangements due to the pandemic.
