Sitting Behaviour whilst working from home: how much sitting, and how can we reduce it?
Oral Presentation B6.2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.522Keywords:
Adults, Sedentary Behaviour, Behaviour Change, PsychologyAbstract
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
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Ailsa Niven, Eva Coral Almeida, Graham Baker, Samantha Fawkner, Ruth Jepson, Glenna Nightingale, Divya Sivaramakrishnan, Claire Fitzsimons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Terms of Publication
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the Health & Fitness Journal of Canada’s right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
- The Contributor (author(s)) represents and guarantees that the Contributor is the sole proprietor of the work and the Contributor has full power to make this Agreement and grant that the work does not infringe the copyright or other proprietary right of any other person; and the work contains no libellous or other unlawful matter and makes no improper invasion of the privacy of any other person. The Contributor also represents and is responsible for the accuracy of the work.
- The Contributor will read, correct, and return promptly galleys and page proofs to the Editor (or designate). The Contributor will be responsible for the completeness and accuracy of these corrections. If the Contributor does not return galleys and page proofs within the schedule agreed upon with the Editor (or designate), the Publisher may proceed without the Contributor corrections.
- When applicable, the Contributor agrees to obtain written permissions and letters of agreement for all matter contained in the work that is protected by existing copyright, paying any permission fees for the use of text or illustrations controlled by others, and furnishing the Publisher with written evidence of the copyright owner’s authorization to use the material.
- When applicable, the Contributor agrees to obtain written permission for inclusion of any photographic materials involving a human subject, and provide the Publisher with written evidence of the subject’s authorization to use this material. In the case of subjects who have not reached the age of majority, the Contributor agrees to obtain and furnish the Publisher with written permission from the parent and/or legal guardian.
- The Contributor may draw on and refer to material in the work in preparing other articles for publication in scholarly and professional journals and papers for delivery at professional meetings, provided that credit is given to the work and to the Publisher.
- This agreement may not be changed unless the Contributor and the Publisher agree to the change by means of a formal addendum signed by the Contributor and the Publisher’s representative.
- This agreement shall be construed and governed according to the laws of the province of British Columbia and shall be binding upon the parties hereto, their heirs, successors, assigns, and personal representatives. Should any formal proceedings related to this agreement be brought, such formal proceeding may be brought only in the province of British Columbia.
By submitting an article to the Health & Fitness Journal of Canada the Contributor has accepted and agreed to all terms outlined in the copyright notice.