Does the use of standing ‘hot’ desks change sedentary work time in an open plan office?

• Published in: Preventive medicine 2012-01, Vol.54 (1), p.65-67
• Main Authors: Gilson, Nicholas D, Suppini, Alessandro, Ryde, Gemma C, Brown, Helen E, Brown, Wendy J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accelerometers; Actigraphy - instrumentation; Adult; Australia; Body Mass Index; Female; Humans; Interior Design and Furnishings; Internal Medicine; Male; Middle Aged; Monitoring, Physiologic - methods; Occupational Health; Open plan office; Posture - physiology; Sedentary; Sedentary Lifestyle; Sedentary work time; Standing desks
• ISSN: 0091-7435; 1096-0260
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.10.012

Abstract Objective This study assessed the use of standing ‘hot’ desks in an open plan office and their impact on sedentary work time. Method Australian employees (n = 11; 46.9 [9.8] years; BMI 25.9 [3.5 kg/m2 ]) wore an armband accelerometer for two consecutive working weeks (November–December 2010). In the second week, employees were encouraged to use a pod of four standing ‘hot’ desks to stand and work as often as possible. Desk use was recorded using time logs. The percentages of daily work time spent in sedentary (< 1.6 METs), light (1.6–3.0 METs) and moderate + (> 3 METs) intensity categories were calculated for each week, relative to the total daily time at work. Paired sample t tests were used to compare weekly differences. Results Employees spent 8:09 ± 0:31 h/day at work and ‘hot’ desk use ranged from zero to 9:35 h for the week. There were no significant changes in mean time spent in sedentary (difference of − 0.1%), light (difference of 0.8%) and moderate + (− 0.7%) intensity categories. However, individual changes in sedentary work time ranged from − 5.9 to 6.4%. Conclusions Volitional use of standing ‘hot’ desks varied and while individual changes were apparent, desk use did not alter overall sedentary work time in this sample.