Abstract
Keywords
Reducing sedentary behavior (SB) and promoting physical activity are essential for preventing chronic illness and death and are increasingly emphasized in action plans for improving public health (World Health Organization, 2018). Sedentary behavior conveys its own health risks, independent of physical activity levels. Sedentary behavior is defined as any activity performed in a sitting, reclining, or lying posture with an energy expenditure equal to or less than 1.5 metabolic equivalents (Tremblay et al., 2017). Sedentary job tasks have increased rapidly in recent decades, becoming a critical obstacle in promoting workers’ health. The problem of SB has been exacerbated by COVID-19 and changes in work patterns such as working from home. These findings highlight the urgency of finding interventional solutions at both the individual and organizational levels.
As a traditional intervention to reduce SB, making changes to the physical environment has been common: Alternative workstations have shown strong evidence for decreasing SB. In addition, use of technology, a healthier work culture, and more enlightened work policies have been suggested to reduce SB. For example, Rollo and Prapavessis (2020) used a personalized coping strategy involving text messages to remind workers to take a break from SB, resulting in significant improvement in prolonged sitting time at the workplace. In addition, online behavioral modifications incorporated with height-adjustable desks were shown to reduce workers’ SB during COVID-19.
Organizational support and leadership have been found to be the strongest contributors to workers’ health and well-being (Imboden et al., 2020). Occupational health nurses (OHNs) are encouraged to develop strategies (supportive infrastructure and resources) to help workers reduce SB realistically within their working environment. The first step may be to increase awareness of health threats caused by SB at the leadership level. Occupational health nurses can play an important role in persuading the team about the benefits associated with reduced SB, such as better work performance and return on investment, as well as the potential health benefits for employees. At the organizational level, it may be most effective to apply multiple strategies simultaneously. For example, studies have found that non-sitting meetings, notices of employer support, and regular reminders to move can reduce SB. Conversely, sitting preferences, weak work commitment, lack of motivation, inflexible work policies, and unfavorable social norms were barriers to reducing SB (Landais et al., 2022). At the individual level, OHNs are well-positioned to provide education to increase motivation, as well as develop tailored, technology-based interventions to prompt regular breaks in sedentary time, combined with behavioral modifications and a supportive and adjustable work environment. Thus, OHNs can empower employees by implementing feasible interventions and action plans for healthy lifestyles.
Our understanding of SB in the workplace is in its infancy, and a great deal of work is still needed. Novel approaches to decrease SB should be tested in high-quality studies in a variety of work environments. In addition, SB in workers presents many unknowns, such as which job classifications show higher SB and how many daily SB breaks are needed for each job. Consequently, additional evidence is needed through exploratory and intervention studies that objectively measure SB and cost-effectively reduce it. Such studies would provide strong justification for implementing employer intervention efforts.
