Effects Of A Real-world Sedentary Break Intervention On Work-related Outcomes: Findings From A Large-scale Pragmatic Trial

Sedentary behavior has become pervasive in the workplace and is strongly associated with adverse health outcomes. Breaking up sedentary time with regular physical activity has been recommended as a public health strategy to offset the harms of sedentary behavior. However, employer concerns that frequent breaks will negatively impact work performance have hindered implementation. Thus, it is essential to evaluate the effect of various sedentary break doses on work engagement and performance in the real-world to inform workplace uptake. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of multiple doses of a sedentary break intervention on work engagement and performance under real-world conditions. METHODS: Employed adults (n = 5,952) working in remote (32.9%), hybrid (41.4%), and in-person (24.6%) settings completed a 2-week intervention period. Participants self-selected one of three sedentary break doses to follow (5 min of walking every 30 min, 60 min, or 120 min) during waking hours. Work engagement and performance were assessed using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the World Health Organization’s Health and Work Performance Questionnaire, respectively. RESULTS: All sedentary break doses yielded significant improvement in work engagement (every 30 min dose: Pre: 12.11 ± 0.06, Post: 13.08 ± 0.06; every 60 min dose: Pre: 12.28 ± 0.05, Post: 13.21 ± 0.05; every 120 min dose: Pre: 12.52 ± 0.08, Post: 13.05 ± 0.08; p < 0.001 for all doses). The improvement in work engagement was significantly greater (p < 0.001) in the every 30 min (mean % Δ: 10.3 ± 0.6) and every 60 min (mean % Δ: 9.6 ± 0.4) doses compared to the every 120 min dose (mean % Δ: 6.2 ± 0.7). Work performance was significantly improved (p < 0.001) in the every 30 min (Pre: 24.55 ± 0.11, Post: 25.32 ± 0.11) and every 60 min (Pre: 24.79 ± 0.08, Post: 25.47 ± 0.08) doses. No differences were observed in the every 120 min dose (Pre: 25.49 ± 0.12, Post: 25.42 ± 0.12, p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that frequent sedentary breaks (ranging from every 30 min to every 120 min) did not negatively impact work engagement and performance and, alternatively, yielded positive improvements in work-related outcomes. These findings offer support for the uptake of sedentary breaks in the workplace.