Is workplace an appropriate setting for the promotion of physical activity? A new framework for worksite interventions among employees

Abstract

Although the evolution of human occupational tasks has been encouraging with a shift from an active lifestyle to a more sedentary way of life, workplaces have also been suggested as a new strategic opportunity to promote physical activity. While there is a growing body of literature regarding the effect of worksite physical activity interventions, there is a need to improve these interventions, their objectives and implementation. This Sounding Board article proposes for the first time a framework regarding the implementation of such interventions within the workplace, suggesting a joint approach combining physical activity and health specialists as well as ergonomists that are experts in human work sciences.

Effects of cycling workstation to get tertiary employee moving on their overall health: study protocol for a REMOVE trial

“…Another strength of the REMOVE project is the implication of the companies’ management teams, as recently suggested [ 24 ]. Every period of experimental measures (T0, T1, T2) will last about 2 h. Measurement times will be taken on working hours and employers have accepted to pay every participant during the study visits.…”

“…A lack of adherence to programs aiming at increasing PA in tertiary employees has been reported multiple times [ 107 , 108 ]. Genin et al postulated that interventions targeting PA and SB in tertiary employees should not only consider the operational feasibility but also the coherence and compatibility with the working environment, structuration, functioning as well as the workers and the way they live and experience their work [ 24 ]. Therefore, an ergonomic approach is needed to improve the implementation of such an intervention in future studies but also to optimize future guidelines on strategies to reduce SB in tertiary worksite.…”

“…Interventions should not only focus on the operational feasibility but also consider the potential side-effects on the employees’ work task quality and productivity. Interventions aiming at increasing PA and reducing SB in office workers should assess the coherence and compatibility with the working environment, structuration, culture and the way they live and experience their work [ 24 ].…”

Promoting Physical Activity and Reducing Sedentary Time Among Tertiary Workers: Position Stand From the French National ONAPS

“…Recently, Genin et al 2 proposed an implementation framework targeted toward the empowerment of worksite interventions. What was clear from this work and the work of the expert panel is that any actions engaged within the workplace have to be jointly designed and implemented by workers and employers.…”

“…1 At the same time, French workers spend approximately 10 hours per day sitting without active breaks on work days and about 7.6 hours per day sitting on nonworking days. 2 Due to the amount of time that people spend at work, the workplace is now recognized as an opportune setting for promoting an active lifestyle and for developing strategies to reduce sedentary time. 3 Although there has been a growing body of literature proposing such strategies over the past 10 years, it is difficult to draw conclusions from this work due to the heterogeneity in research methods and the lack of robust statistical analyses.…”