RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Effects of office workstation type on physical activity and stress
JF Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JO Occup Environ Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP oemed-2018-105077
DO 10.1136/oemed-2018-105077
A1 Casey M Lindberg
A1 Karthik Srinivasan
A1 Brian Gilligan
A1 Javad Razjouyan
A1 Hyoki Lee
A1 Bijan Najafi
A1 Kelli J Canada
A1 Matthias R Mehl
A1 Faiz Currim
A1 Sudha Ram
A1 Melissa M Lunden
A1 Judith H Heerwagen
A1 Kevin Kampschroer
A1 Esther M Sternberg
YR 2018
UL http://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2018/07/27/oemed-2018-105077.abstract
AB Objective Office environments have been causally linked to workplace-related illnesses and stress, yet little is known about how office workstation type is linked to objective metrics of physical activity and stress. We aimed to explore these associations among office workers in US federal office buildings.Methods We conducted a wearable, sensor-based, observational study of 231 workers in four office buildings. Outcome variables included workers’ physiological stress response, physical activity and perceived stress. Relationships between office workstation type and these variables were assessed using structural equation modelling.Results Workers in open bench seating were more active at the office than those in private offices and cubicles (open bench seating vs private office=225.52 mG (31.83% higher on average) (95% CI 136.57 to 314.46); open bench seating vs cubicle=185.13 mG (20.16% higher on average) (95% CI 66.53 to 303.72)). Furthermore, workers in open bench seating experienced lower perceived stress at the office than those in cubicles (−0.27 (9.10% lower on average) (95% CI −0.54 to −0.02)). Finally, higher physical activity at the office was related to lower physiological stress (higher heart rate variability in the time domain) outside the office (−26.12 ms/mG (14.18% higher on average) (95% CI −40.48 to −4.16)).Conclusions Office workstation type was related to enhanced physical activity and reduced physiological and perceived stress. This research highlights how office design, driven by office workstation type, could be a health-promoting factor.