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  • Impact of sedentary behaviour reduction on desk-worker workplace satisfaction, productivity, mood and health-related quality of life: a randomised trial

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Workplace
Impact of sedentary behaviour reduction on desk-worker workplace satisfaction, productivity, mood and health-related quality of life: a randomised trial
  1. Tyler D Quinn1,
  2. Subashan Perera2,
  3. Molly B Conroy3,
  4. John M Jakicic4,
  5. Matthew F Muldoon5,
  6. Kimberly A Huber6,
  7. Abdullah B Alansare7,
  8. Anthony J Holmes6,8,
  9. Bethany Barone Gibbs9,10
  1. 1 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
  2. 2 Departments of Medicine and Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
  3. 3 Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
  4. 4 Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA
  5. 5 Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
  6. 6 Department of Health and Human Development, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
  7. 7 Department of Exercise Physiology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  8. 8 University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
  9. 9 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
  10. 10 Department of Exercise Physiology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Tyler D Quinn; tyler.quinn1{at}hsc.wvu.edu

Abstract

Objectives Sedentary behaviour (SB) is related to lower worker health-related quality of life (HRQOL), mental health and productivity. However, it is unknown whether reducing SB improves these outcomes. This study assessed whether a 3-month SB reduction intervention improved or was associated with dose-response changes in workplace satisfaction, productivity, mood and HRQOL.

Methods Inactive desk workers with elevated blood pressure were randomised to a 3-month SB reduction intervention (n=135) or control (n=136). The intervention used a sit-stand desk, wrist-worn activity prompter and bi-monthly individual coaching to primarily replace work SB with standing and stepping. SB measured via a thigh-mounted activPAL3 micro, workplace satisfaction, productivity, mood and HRQOL were assessed at baseline and 3 months. Analyses of covariance compared changes in outcomes between groups with adjustment for baseline values. In both groups, associations between changes in work and non-work SB and outcomes were examined using linear regression.

Results Compared with control, reducing SB did not significantly change workplace satisfaction, productivity or HRQOL. Among mood measures, only vigour improved (1.01 vs 0.1 points, p=0.0302). Among all participants, reductions in non-work SB were associated with improvements in workplace satisfaction (+0.15 and +0.27 points/hour of non-work standing and stepping, respectively) and productivity (+0.47 points/hour of non-work stepping), while changes in SB during work were not related.

Conclusions Interventions reducing non-work rather than work SB may be more impactful for improving workplace satisfaction and HRQOL outcomes. Future studies should explore workplace-based SB reduction interventions that are longer and target non-work time to improve similar outcomes.

Trial registration number NCT03307343.

  • Quality of Life
  • Physical Exertion
  • Exercise
  • Mental Health
  • Occupational Health

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request.

https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2024-109868

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request.

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    Footnotes

    • Presented at This paper was presented at 34th International Congress on Occupational Health, Marrakesh, Morocco, April 30 2024.

    • Contributors TDQ is the guarantor, assisted with data collection and led manuscript authorship; SP performed all statistical analyses; MBC provided oversight of data collection and conducted critical manuscript review; JMJ provided oversight of data collection and conducted critical manuscript review; MFM provided oversight of data collection and conducted critical manuscript review; KAH coordinated all data collection and provided critical manuscript review; ABA assisted with data collection and provided critical manuscript review; AJH assisted with data collection and provided critical manuscript review; BBG was the principal investigator of the trial, assisted with data collection, manuscript authorship, statistical analysis and review.

    • Funding This research was conducted with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), R01 HL134809. Support with recruitment and other aspects of study administration was provided by the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) programme, UL1 TR001857.

    • Competing interests JMJ reports participation in the Scientific Advisory Board for Wondr Health, ownership of Healthy Lifestyles Consulting, LLC, and PI of the clinical site for a research study awarded to the University of Kansas Medical Center by Epitomee Medical. The other authors report no relevant conflicts of interest.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.