When I talk health & safety with clients, I invariably comment that people who work in offices are at low risk, which is true when we are talking about safety, but the same cannot be said when we are discussing peoples’ health. Why? There are hidden dangers from having a sedentary job; such as heart disease, type II diabetes, cancers and poor mental health; which have all been linked to being inactive at work, even for those that class themselves as fit. Prolonged sitting is thought to slow the metabolism and affect the way the body controls sugar levels, blood pressure and the breakdown of fat.
A survey of 2,000 office workers, generated from the partnership between Get Britain Standing and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) charity, suggested:
- 45% of women and 37% of men spend less than 30 minutes of their working day up on their feet;
- more than half regularly eat their lunch at their desk, which is also known not to be particularly hygienic given the fact that desks are not cleaned that much;
- 78% office workers felt they spent too much time sitting down; and
- nearly two-thirds were worried sitting at work was having a negative impact on their health;
It has been estimated that it is possible to lose 5.2 lbs (2.4 kg) by standing up for an extra 30 minutes a day for a year. Put another way, Get Britain Standing says standing burns an extra 50 calories per hour than being seated. Other ideas include using the stairs instead of a lift, eating lunch away from your desk, taking a break from your computer every 30 minutes, and walking to a colleague’s desk rather than phoning or emailing them.
As manual jobs continue to reduce and are mechanised, the amount of physical activity most of us get at work is minimal, so just moving around at little bit more, even just standing up, can make a big difference to calories burned and how alert, creative and productive we are.
The joint campaign put forward a range of ideas that we can consider, and my personal favourites are:
- Take regular breaks from your computer, stand up, stretch and walk around.
- Make phone calls standing up.
- Use the stairs.
- Have standing or walking meetings.
- Get everyone to move around with each new agenda item.
- Ban internal emails. Everyone must walk to colleagues to discuss work. Be prepared that some people may have aged – depending on how long you’ve left it.
- Organise a lunchtime walk.
More recently, in June of this year, a new study, the first to give expert guidance of this kind in the UK, has gone further stating that the health risks of too much sitting down at work and sedentary living in general could well be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality.
The report goes on to recommend that office workers should be on their feet for a minimum of two hours a day, according to new health guidelines commissioned by Public Health England (PHE). This daily quota should increase to four hours a day, breaking up prolonged periods of sitting with standing-based work and regular walkabouts.
Authors of the report highlight sedentary behaviour in the UK accounts for 60% of people’s waking hours. It comes as a growing body of evidence links prolonged periods of physical inactivity with a heightened risk of serious illness and premature death. Indeed, the report said: “For those working in offices, 65%-75% of their working hours are spent sitting, of which more than 50% is accumulated in prolonged periods of sustained sitting.”
Professor John Buckley, lead author of the new guidance is quoted as saying “What may be most shocking is that irrespective of your level of physical activity, prolonged sedentary working leads to a significant increase in the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, certain cancers, depression, muscle and joint problems.”
The study also suggests it makes good business sense by improving productivity through reducing sickness, if proper staff breaks are encouraged, and people are encouraged to stand and move around, as well as having workplaces designed to allow people to work more easily, either at their desk or other part of the office, whilst standing up. They also suggest bosses should encourage staff to cut down on drinking and smoking, eat a healthy diet, find ways to alleviate stress and warn their workers about the dangers of sitting down all day.
In comparison with Scandinavia, where 90% of office workers now have access to sit-stand work stations, only 1% of British workers have this choice according to the study. The concept of standing whilst working is not, however, new. Several well-known figures are been known to have worked standing up, including former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who would often work on his book manuscripts at an upright desk, as did the US founding father Benjamin Franklin. Virginia Woolf also wrote novels whilst standing at a special high desk.
When our Managing Director last year purchased an adjustable desk so that he can either sit at it or work standing up, I was intrigued. However, now that I know that I could possibly lose weight using such a desk, and I could be helping myself to reduce future health problems, I am much more interested. It is not uncommon that when clients ring my mobile, I will use that as an excuse to get up and walk about, so if you start to hear a kettle in the background you will know that I have also taken some exercise and walked downstairs to make myself a mug of tea as well, in an effort to decrease my sedentary lifestyle!!!
Our Consultants would be pleased to advise you on any element of the issues arising from this newsletter.
