Workplace physical activity

Background WHO recognizes sedentary behaviour at work as a risk factor contributing to the development of NCDs. Multiple factors promote this behaviour at the workplace: daily work sitting (for example, office work); many meetings (conferences or seminars); and, in the current health context, remote work and videoconferencing, which further promote inactivity. Thus, the Pacific Community developed the “3 min Pacific Break” project, to encourage physical activity at the workplace, while promoting Pacific culture. The programme is designed to encourage such activity by showing short videos of traditional Pacific Island dances during coffee/tea breaks to make them more active. They may be used during long meetings and online events, or simply made available to employees to use daily, as they choose. The videos were produced in the 22 Pacific. The short and easy-to-follow sequences invite people to move and explore the traditional dances specific to each island. The videos may be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCq-WnF3Hdrhqrz3A__sRi2LEeZe6pYAd Evaluation The project encourages active breaks and, simultaneously, promotes the culture of the Pacific Islands. The videos have been used in a variety of contexts, from team meetings to group trainings and regional conferences. At every session, all participants – regardless of position, age or gender – have participated and tried to follow the choreography on the screen. The videos’ effectiveness has also been demonstrated during virtual meetings. Conclusion : In the end, the project has a health goal – to promote active breaks at work – but it also seeks to promote the culture of and share the customs and traditions unique to each Pacific Island. Practical implications Through the presentation of this project, participants will come to recognize the value of using cultural codes to encourage physical activity, particular in the workplace. They may consider launching the project in their respective geographic areas.

Background: The UAE reports high rates of mortality from non-communicable diseases, and insufficient physical activity is a major underlying cause. Purpose: To apply a realist evaluation on different aspects of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) workplace exercise intervention that was conducted in Dubai, UAE. Methods: This study used a 13-question questionnaire based on a context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configuration, which investigates how, why, for whom, to what extent, and in what context the different aspects of an RCT workplace exercise intervention worked. The questionnaire was sent via email and WhatsApp to 130 RCT participants. Data were analyzed using a content analysis approach that included a mixed inductive and deductive coding method. Results: Among the 130 RCT participants, 87 completed the questionnaire, of which 54 (62%) were from the intervention group and 33 (38%) were from the delayed-intervention group. Most participants (99%) were aware of the intervention’s objectives. In addition, 44% of the participants perceived that the trainers and facilitators helped them stay engaged and motivated to exercise in the workplace, while 44% perceived that the main barrier to exercise in the workplace was work commitment. Approximately 74% of the participants thought the study positively affected their friends, families, partners/spouses, or relatives. Most participants (98%) perceived benefits from joining the study, and the highest benefit experienced was improvement in health and fitness (27%). Finally, participants’ scores ranged between 5.9 to 6.6 out of 7 for five study components (regarding motivation to perform physical activity). Conclusion: The CMO configuration has provided insight into the successful aspects of the RCT and recommendations for future interventions. Practical implications: To effectively improve employees’ behavior and health, the successful RCT components should be considered when implementing multilevel health-promoting workplace exercise interventions. Funding: United Arab Emirates University [grant 31M466], ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04403789).

Background: Studies conducted before and during the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that remote workdays are associated with higher sedentary time compared to office workdays. Because the office workers are already sedentary in their work, the popularity of remote work after the pandemic may have led to increased sedentary time and thus reduced physical activity among hybrid and remote workers. Purpose: To examine the differences in daily physical activity behavior during office and remote workdays among hybrid workers. Methods: Hybrid workers were recruited from the University of Turku, Finland (n=50, 82% women, 41±10 years). Participants wore Fibion SENS accelerometers on their thigh for 7 consecutive days, including at least 2 office and 2 remote workdays. Sedentary time (SED), light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during workdays (including working and non-working time) were measured. Linear mixed model was used to study intra-individual differences in physical activity behavior during office vs. remote workdays. Results: Overall, remote workdays accumulated 63 minutes (95% CI 40-86) more SED, 50 min (26-74) less LPA, and 17 min (10-24) less MVPA compared to office workdays. When focusing on working hours, remote work accumulated 39 min (11-67) more SED, 31 min (13-50) less LPA, and 7 min (4-10) less MVPA compared to the office work. During non-working time, 26 min (5-46) more SED and 9 min (3 to 16) less MVPA was accumulated during the remote workdays. Conclusions: Remote working hours accumulate more SED and less physical activity compared to the office hours. The lower worktime physical activity does not appear to be compensated with higher leisure physical activity. Practical implications: More attention should be paid on remote workers’ sedentary time. Strategies to promote physical activity during remote workdays are warranted. Funding: The Finnish Work Environment Fund and the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture

Background: Programs fostering physical activity at worksite are recommended to promote well-being. In our hospital, a large survey investigated employees’ acceptability of possible physical activity opportunities implemented at worksite. Objectives: We aimed here to describe the main steps of this roadmap in our hospital setting. Method: We organized a transdisciplinary group of volunteer’s members interested in physical activity implementation, comprising employees from diverse background such as physicians in sport medicine and occupational health, healthcare workers, top and middle managers, technical agents, administrative workers, communication, and financial staff. Based on the survey findings (ended in May 2022), and four consecutive meetings, the group designed a roadmap for implementation of a worksite program promoting tailored to employees’ wants and needs. Results: The survey highlighted the importance of three main PA opportunities: onsite cycle facilities and fitness room together with external sports club partnerships. Environmental changes such as stairwells (“Nudging”), sports facilities and walking trails inside the hospital campus were also planned according to international guidelines. Funding is the main barrier to implementation, particularly for the fitness room. We planned a specific survey among sedentary workers to promote moderate activity in administrative clerks. Conclusion: Participative approach using a transdisciplinary group of volunteers for promoting physical activity is possible even in high-intensity workplaces such as hospitals. However, it is still an ongoing process and evaluations are needed. Practice implications: Physical activity program has been implemented. Funding: CHU Angers.

Background: The social and behavioural factors related to physical activity among adults are well known. Despite the overlapping nature of these factors, few studies have examined how multiple predictors of physical activity interact. Purpose: This study aimed to identify the relative importance of multiple interacting sociodemographic and work-related factors associated with the daily physical activity patterns of a population-based sample of workers. Methods: Sociodemographic, work, screen time, and health variables were obtained from five, repeated cross-sectional cohorts of workers from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (2007 to 2017). Classification and Regression Tree (CART) modelling was used to identify the discriminators associated with six daily physical activity patterns. The performance of the CART approach was compared to a stepwise multinomial logistic regression model. Results: Among the 8,909 workers analysed, the most important CART discriminators of daily physical activity patterns were age, job skill, and physical strength requirements of the job. Other important factors included participants’ sex, educational attainment, fruit/vegetable intake, industry, work hours, marital status, having a child living at home, computer time, and household income. The CART tree had moderate classification accuracy and performed marginally better than the stepwise multinomial logistic regression model. Conclusion: Age and work-related factors–particularly job skill, and physical strength requirements at work–appeared as the most important factors related to physical activity attainment, and differed based on sex, work hours, and industry. Practical implications: CART may be a more practical approach compared to convention regression to inform interventions that recognise the complex interrelated factors associated with three or more categories of PA variables.Delineating the hierarchy of factors associated with daily physical activity may assist in targeting preventive strategies aimed at promoting physical activity in workers. Funding: Seed funding from the University of Toronto’s Data Sciences Institute and project grant funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research

Background: The “physical activity paradox” concept suggests that leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) improves health, whereas occupational physical activity (OPA) might not. However, most of the current evidence investigated in Western countries, lacks comprehensive study in non-Western contexts, including Japan. Purpose: This study examined how OPA and LTPA affect cardiometabolic health (CMH) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in Japanese workers. Methods: Using accelerometer data (HJA-750, Omron Healthcare) from 1,316 workers with at least four workdays per week, we analyzed sedentary behavior (SB) and intensity-specific physical activity (PA) during work and leisure. The CMH indicators were derived from annual health examinations, and CRF was estimated using questionnaire-derived values. The participants were grouped into three clusters based on their LTPA and OPA levels, and their health outcomes were assessed using multiple linear regressions adjusted for demographic and lifestyle factors (age, education level, industry, medication, alcohol consumption, and smoking). Results: The mean age of the participants was 45.5 ± 8.1 years. OPA accounted for approximately 24% of Cluster 1 (low OPA and LTPA), 34% of Cluster 2 (high LTPA), and 60% of Cluster 3 (high OPA). Conversely, LTPA accounted for approximately 27% of Cluster 1, 44% of Cluster 2, and 31% of Cluster 3, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that Cluster 2 had a significantly lower CMH score (β = -0.14; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.22, -0.07), along with lower waist circumference, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, and blood glucose values, compared to Cluster 1. Moreover, such significant associations were observed in CRF (β = 0.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.21, 0.46). Conclusions: Our findings suggested that LTPA benefits the health of Japanese workers, but the results did not conclusively show that OPA is detrimental. Practical implications: Recognizing beneficial and harmful PA patterns can promote healthier lifestyles among workers and inform global occupational health strategies.

Background: To target truck drivers’ health inequalities, we created the ‘Structured Health Intervention For Truckers’ (SHIFT), a health promotion programme designed to promote physical activity and positive lifestyle changes. As no national-level health education resources exist for UK truck drivers, we translated SHIFT into a scalable 1-hour short course (Short-SHIFT), to embed within industry-delivered mandatory driver training. UK truck drivers must undertake 35-hours of mandatory training over 5-years to maintain their licences. ‘Short-SHIFT’ is designed to raise drivers’ awareness of healthy lifestyle behaviours. This study provides an initial evaluation of the implementation of Short-SHIFT within a compulsory driver training module delivered by a UK logistics operator to their 7000-truck driver workforce. Program Delivery: Sixty-five truck driver trainers were trained to deliver Short-SHIFT. Upon completion of Short-SHIFT, drivers were invited to complete an online questionnaire, providing qualitative and quantitative feedback. Quantitative feedback received to date was summarised using descriptive statistics. Evaluation: To date, ~1000 drivers have experienced Short-SHIFT. Questionnaire responses have been received from 147 drivers (14% of attendees; sample characteristics: 97% male; mean(±SD) age: 50±10 years; BMI 29.3±5.3kg/m2). 83% found the session interesting and informative; 83%, 83% and 79% agreed it raised their awareness of the benefits of physical activity, reducing/breaking up sitting, and a healthy diet, respectively. After experiencing Short-SHIFT, 74% reported that they intended to make healthier lifestyle changes. Conclusions: Findings suggest Short-SHIFT is scalable into truck drivers’ mandatory training and appears to be effective in raising drivers’ awareness of benefits of adopting healthy lifestyle behaviours. Course engagement appears to motivate drivers to want to make healthier lifestyle changes. Practical implications: The positive feedback received to date suggests Short-SHIFT has potential to be mandated nationally as a module component, increasing its reach to ~250,000 UK truck drivers, filling a void in drivers’ health literacy. Funding: The Colt Foundation