How supportive are workplace environments for sitting less and moving more? A descriptive study of Australian workplaces participating in the BeUpstanding program

Abstract

Desk-based workers are highly sedentary; this has been identified as an emerging work health and safety issue. To reduce workplace sitting time and promote physical activity it is important to understand what factors are already present within workplaces to inform future interventions. This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of supportive environmental factors, prior to workplaces taking part in a 'sit less, move more' initiative (BeUpstanding). Participants were 291 Australian-based workplace champions (representing 230 organisations) who unlocked the BeUpstanding program's online toolkit between September 2017 and mid-November 2020, and who completed surveys relating to champion characteristics, organisation and workplace characteristics, and the availability of environmental factors to support sitting less and moving more. Factors were characterized using descriptive statistics and compared across key sectors and factor categories (spatial; resources/initiatives; policy/cultural) using mixed logistic regression models. Of the 42 factors measured, only 11 were present in > 50% of workplaces. Spatial design factors were more likely to be present than resources/initiatives or policy/cultural factors. Centralised printers were the most commonly reported attribute (94%), while prompts to encourage stair use were the least common (4%). Most workplace factors with < 50% prevalence were modifiable and/or were considered modifiable with low cost. Organisations that were public sector, not small/medium, not regional/remote, and not blue-collar had higher odds of having supportive factors than their counterparts; however, workplaces varied considerably in the number of factors present. These findings can assist with developing and targeting initiatives and promoting feasible strategies for desk-based workers to sit less and move more.

Keywords: Cross-sectional; Culture; Environment supports; Health Promotion; Physical activity; Policy; Sedentary Time; Spatial; Workplace; Workstation.

Fig. 1

Supportive environmental characteristics (spatial, resources and policy/cultural) in workplaces signed up to the BeUpstanding program (2017–2020) as reported by 291 workplace champions.