Impact And Perceptions Of A Workplace Wellness Initiative Providing A Standing Desk Converter To Academic Staff

The negative health consequences of a sedentary lifestyle are well-documented, but many workplace environments are characterized by prolonged periods of uninterrupted sitting. Standing desk interventions have shown promise in decreasing sedentary time. Stand Up for Your Health Dalhousie is a workplace initiative that provides University staff with a standing desk converter for 4-weeks. PURPOSE: To evaluate the initial impact of Stand Up for Your Health Dalhousie and test the hypothesis that the intervention will decrease sedentary time at work. The impact of the initiative on fatigue and staff’s perceptions were determined. METHODS: Ten healthy participants who worked at Dalhousie University (8 females, 32.8 ± 11.8 years, body mass index: 25.8 ± 4.8 kg/m2) were provided a standing desk converter for four-weeks. Habitual moderate-vigorous physical activity, sedentary time at work, sedentary time during leisure were assessed via the Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Questionnaire before and after the intervention. Fatigue was assessed via the Fatigue Assessment Scale (1 = Never, 5 = Always) and a self-reflection questionnaire ascertained their perceptions on the standing desk converter (1 = Strongly Disagree, 7 = Strongly Agree). Cohen’s d was determined for pre-post comparisons. RESULTS: Sedentary time at work decreased (5.9 ± 0.2 to 4.7 ± 1.6 hours/day, p = 0.03, d = 1.06), but neither sedentary time during leisure (2.3 ± 1.7 to 3.7 ± 2.2 hours/day, p = 0.14, d = 0.73) nor moderate-vigorous physical activity changed (172 ± 158 to 259 ± 340 mins/week, p = 0.123, d = 0.33). Physical exhaustion decreased (2.2 ± 0.4 to 1.8 ± 0.4, p = 0.03, d = 1.00), but there was no effect on mental exhaustion (2.2 ± 0.6, post: 2.1 ± 0.6, p = 0.17, d = 0.17). Participants agreed they would use the standing desk converter in the future (6.3 ± 1.0), would recommend it to others (6.1 ± 0.6), and would purchase a standing desk converter (5.6 ± 1.4). CONCLUSIONS: Our early findings from a standing desk converter intervention provided to university staff members reduced their self-reported sedentary time at work, decreased reported physical exhaustion, and introduced staff to a tool that was perceived favorably and that they would use in the future. Support Provided by a Dalhousie Workplace Wellness Grant. Support provided via a Workplace Wellness Grant