Effects of Installing Height-adjustable Workstations on Office Workers Workplace Sitting Time and Productivity

Effects of Installing Height-adjustable Workstations on Occupational Sitting Time and Workplace Productivity in Desk-based Workers

The purpose of this study was to look at the effects that height-adjustable workstations on occupational sitting time and workplace productivity in office workers. Participants workplace activity (sitting, standing and walking) and productivity was measured before the installation of the height-adjustable workstations. Workplace activity and productivity were then measured four weeks after the installation of height-adjustable workstations. The results were compared to a control group who received no intervention whilst the intervention had the height-adjustable workstations.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Workplace Inactivity
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Height-adjustable workstation

Detailed Description

Sedentary behaviour has been found to be ubiquitous within the workplace and due to the negative consequences of sedentary behaviour upon health, research has began to look at ways to reduce and interrupt sedentary behaviour.

Interventions that have introduced height-adjustable workstations into the workplace have been found to reduce sedentary behaviour. Some employees and employers are concerned that using height-adjustable workstations and trying to reduce workplace sedentary behaviour can lead to a loss of workplace productivity.

The present study looked at the effects of installing height-adjustable workstations on occupational sitting time and workplace productivity in desk-based workers. Workplace activity was measured objectively using ActivPal accelerometers and productivity was measured via self-report measures. Measurements took place at baseline and four weeks after receiving the height-adjustable workstation.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 31
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. age 18 to 65 years,
2. working ≥0.6 full time equivalents,
3. access to a work telephone and desktop computer with internet,
4. not pregnant,
5. no planned absence >1 week during the trial,
6. not chair-bound or uniquely impaired such that reducing occupational sitting time was not feasible,
7. no pre-existing musculoskeletal disorder.

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control
Experimental: Height-adjustable workstation; Participants received a height-adjustable workstation for four weeks	Device: Height-adjustable workstation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Workplace Sedentary Time	The amount of time a participant spends sitting whilst in the workplace (minutes). This was measured using a thigh-worn ActivPAL accelerometer.	Baseline (0 weeks), 4 weeks after installation of height-adjustable workstations

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Workplace Absenteeism Using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire	Self-reported absolute absenteeism (the amount of time a participant was absent from work for during the previous 7-days) measured using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire. This is calculated in relation to a participants contracted hours, therefore a negative score shows that a participant worked less than they are contracted to, where as a positive score means a participant reported working more hours than they are contracted to.	Baseline (0 weeks), 4 weeks after installation of height-adjustable workstations
Change in Workplace Presenteeism Using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire	Self-reported absolute presenteeism (an employees productivity during working hours) measured using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire. The higher the percentage, the more productive a participant felt they were. 100% means that they felt they were productive the whole time they were working. Presenteeism can be impacted upon by illness and other health conditions, if a person was feeling ill or had a back problem, this may mean that they are less productive whilst at work.	Baseline (0 weeks), 4 weeks after installation of height-adjustable workstations

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Sheffield Hallam University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Simon H Till, Sheffield Hallam University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Neuhaus M, Eakin EG, Straker L, Owen N, Dunstan DW, Reid N, Healy GN. Reducing occupational sedentary time: a systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence on activity-permissive workstations. Obes Rev. 2014 Oct;15(10):822-38. doi: 10.1111/obr.12201. Epub 2014 Jul 11.
• Wilmot EG, Edwardson CL, Achana FA, Davies MJ, Gorely T, Gray LJ, Khunti K, Yates T, Biddle SJ. Sedentary time in adults and the association with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death: systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetologia. 2012 Nov;55(11):2895-905. doi: 10.1007/s00125-012-2677-z. Epub 2012 Aug 14. Erratum In: Diabetologia. 2013 Apr;56(4):942-3.
• Kazi A, Duncan M, Clemes S, Haslam C. A survey of sitting time among UK employees. Occup Med (Lond). 2014 Oct;64(7):497-502. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqu099. Epub 2014 Aug 18.
• Kessler RC, Barber C, Beck A, Berglund P, Cleary PD, McKenas D, Pronk N, Simon G, Stang P, Ustun TB, Wang P. The World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ). J Occup Environ Med. 2003 Feb;45(2):156-74. doi: 10.1097/01.jom.0000052967.43131.51.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: December 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 23, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 12, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): October 13, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 28, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 17, 2020
• Last Verified: April 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: SHU-AWS-RCT