Get it right and it can reduce absenteeism, boost productivity and save money.
The facts
The fact is the average office worker spends 76% of their working lives sitting at their desk – that’s 80,000 hours over their lifetime. The problem is sitting for more than 30 minutes at a time can seriously affect our health and that’s damage no amount of the time in the gym can remedy. So, without realising it, everyone who works in an office puts their health at risk.
For businesses that means more sick days, more time off work, employees who are less productive when they’re at work and higher staff turnover. Not a good combination.
The culture of ‘presentee-ism’
Increasingly we feel an overwhelming pressure to be seen at our desk every second of every day. Ironically that behaviour is exactly what makes us ill and less productive. In fact productivity research has shown that when people have greater control over what they do and more autonomy they get more done!
Solutions abound – everything from ‘bubble’ offices to sit-stand desks and improved architectural design but they’re all expensive and they only address part of the problem. The real problem comes down to office culture.
So is there a more effective solution out there?
According to The Cochrane Report and another review published last year by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, there is. They conclude the only way to protect yourself from the dangers of sedentary behaviour is to reduce the amount of time you spend sitting down – in other words you can’t reduce sitting behaviour by just getting more exercise outside of the office. Instead you need to commit to a specific, sitting behaviour-focused, multi-disciplinary intervention instead.
The good news…
Changing behaviour in this way is exactly what we do at Beat the Seat. From education about prolonged sitting and the physiological changes it wreaks on your body to implementing an “Active Office”, we support your staff to break bad habits and improve their health. And we won’t try and sell you a desk. Promise.
Beat the Seat could change things in your office for the better. Find out more
