The sitting issue

We sit too much and it’s bad for our health. These two facts are becoming increasingly hard to ignore. So how do you get the work done and encourage staff to be active? Hybrid working and Zoom aerobics might be part of the answer.

There was a time not long ago when people laughed at the thought of a standing desk. At lunchtime, runners were in the minority; if we only stood up every few hours to make a cup of tea, that was perfectly fine. But in all the ongoing updates to various health data, the risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle have held firm. Those standing desks that once seemed so funny now look like a pretty good idea.

A report by Stanford University found that people who work from home all the time sit for around 9,2 hours a day, compared to 7,3 hours for those who cannot work from home. Without the base level of movement from even a short commute to the office, many people have little or no reason to move much further than their sofa. But then, travelling into an office every day isn’t ideal either.

The move towards hybrid working and offices within walking or cycling distance from home is at least part of the answer. But what else can you and your team do without switching routines and reducing hours spent seated?

Share the hard facts

Giving people the information and the opportunity to change their activity levels is arguably the first and most crucial step. Sitting for too long is thought to slow the metabolism, affecting the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and blood pressure, and break down body fat. Long periods of inactivity have also been proven to have adverse effects on mental health. Furnishing staff with these basic facts is an essential first step in combating our collective stillness.

Considering activity levels purely through the cold eyes of productivity and professional output carries the same message. Active people are more creative and inventive than sedentary ones, according to researchers at Austria’s University of Graz.

Embrace the behavioural changes

Standing desks and active sitting chairs encourage more movement and improved posture. But there are also behavioural changes to be made. Hybrid working means people still get the action of a commute two or three times a week, but it is balanced with more time at home for exercise and reduced travelling stress. The Stanford University paper suggests that work meetings longer than 30 minutes could incorporate standing, walking, or movement breaks.

It also suggests that some remote meetings should be carried out without video so that people can take part while walking or standing outside (on an exercise bike, or a treadmill, or doing squats in the home gym). The report adds that staff should be encouraged to use the stairs rather than lifts, while exercise equipment such as dumbbells or yoga mats should be readily accessible for people to use in case the urge takes them.

Many companies already enable lunchtime or early morning group fitness sessions. Yoga in an empty meeting room or a Zoom aerobics session not only allow staff to move but also foster an attitude that carving out time for exercise within the working day is ok – and more than that, encouraged. There are other benefits too. When employees know that their bosses care about their well-being, trust and loyalty also increase.