Sitting Behaviour whilst working from home: how much sitting, and how can we reduce it?

Oral Presentation B6.2

Authors

  • Ailsa Niven University of Edinburgh
  • Eva Coral Almeida University of Edinburgh
  • Graham Baker University of Edinburgh
  • Samantha Fawkner University of Edinburgh
  • Ruth Jepson University of Edinburgh
  • Glenna Nightingale University of Edinburgh
  • Divya Sivaramakrishnan University of Edinburgh
  • Claire Fitzsimons University of Edinburgh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.522

Keywords:

Adults, Sedentary Behaviour, Behaviour Change, Psychology

Abstract

Background: There is strong evidence that sedentary behaviour has adverse health consequences, and occupational sitting makes a large contribution to daily sedentary time. In the UK, Covid-19 restrictions have meant that significant proportions of the working population have been required to work from home. It is probable that working from home will have resulted in an increase in the occupational sitting of many workers, as they may sit at screens for longer; have more on-line meetings; no longer commute to and from work and meetings; and have fewer occupational reasons for leaving their workspace. To date, there is a dearth of research focusing on occupational sitting in the home environment. Purpose: To assess occupational sitting behaviour whilst working at home, and use the Capability Opportunity Motivation- Behaviour (COM-B) theory to identify the factors that are perceived to be most influential on worker’s ability to reduce the time they spend sitting. These findings will be used to inform intervention strategies. Methods: University staff (n=332; 73% female) who were predominantly working from home (M=95.6; SD=14.6 % of working week) completed an online questionnaire that included the Occupational Sitting and Physical Activity Questionnaire (OSPAQ), and a 7-item COM-B questionnaire to assess perceived influences on ability and willingness to reduce time spent sitting whilst working from home on a 10-point scale (strongly disagree-strongly agree). OSPAQ data were analysed descriptively, and a repeated measures ANOVA with post-hoc paired sample t-tests (with Bonferroni correction) and Cohen’s d calculations were undertaken to determine differences between the scores on the COM-B items. Results: Staff spent on average 89% (395 minutes/day) of their time sitting whilst working at home. There were significant and meaningful differences in the perceived influences on worker’s ability and willingness to reduce their sitting behaviour (p<.01; ηp2=.38). Specifically, participants perceived that they were least able to automatically reduce their sitting behaviour (M=3.19; SD=2.8), and that they had limited social (M=5.14; SD=3.1) and physical opportunity (M=5.66; SD=3.2) to reduce their sitting. Participants scored highest on perceived physical capability (M=8.71; SD=1.98) and knowledge (M=7.16; SD=2.5). Conclusions: University staff have high levels of occupational sitting whilst working from home, which may lead to detrimental health consequences. The findings from this study provide an indication of the factors that influence worker’s ability to reduce their sitting time, and it would be appropriate to develop strategies focusing on these factors. For example, encouraging habit formation/reversal to increase automaticity of the behaviour, creating physical opportunities through restructuring the physical environment (e.g., provision of standing desk), and generating opportunities for social opportunities through restructuring the social environment (e.g., senior colleagues demonstrating the behaviour). Funding: The research was unfunded.

Published

2021-09-30

How to Cite

Niven, A., Coral Almeida, E., Baker, G., Fawkner, S., Jepson, R., Nightingale, G., Sivaramakrishnan, D., & Fitzsimons, C. (2021). Sitting Behaviour whilst working from home: how much sitting, and how can we reduce it? Oral Presentation B6.2. The Health & Fitness Journal of Canada, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.522