Exploring environmental cues to instigate physical movement in the workplace

Abstract

Background: With the increase of sedentary jobs and the health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle, finding novel methods to increase physical activity should be a priority. Environmental cues within the workplace can serve as cues to action for initiating light physical activity.

Aim: To qualitatively explore the environmental cues that can instigate light physical activity within an office workplace context. Identification of these cues can inform behaviour change programmes designed to promote habitual physical movement within the workplace.

Method: Purposive sampling was used to recruit full-time sedentary office workers who self-report as having a highly sedentary job. Interviews followed a semi-structured design and thematic analysis was used to explore environmental cues within commercial, home, and mixed office settings.

Results: Forty-three office workers were interviewed, 16 from a commercial office, 12 from a home office, and 15 with a flexible work arrangement whereby they worked from both a commercial and home office. The findings of this study indicate that across all three groups the main instigator of movement was influenced by office layout (e.g. getting up for beverages and taking bathroom breaks), social environment (e.g. informal and formal meetings), and taking active breaks, both job-related (e.g. printing and filing) and non-job-related (e.g. household chores).

Conclusions: These findings provide valuable insight for behaviour change programmes utilising environmental cues to inform habit-based interventions designed to instigate movement within the workplace.

Keywords: Habit; environmental cues; occupational health; physical movement; sedentary behaviour.