Association between work-from-home frequency and prolonged sedentary behavior: A longitudinal study among Japanese desk workers in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the adoption of work from home (WFH) practices, raising concerns about their potential impact on sedentary behavior (SB). Although one previous study has suggested an association between WFH frequency and prolonged SB, the causal relationship and whether the findings hold true in situations where COVID-19 infection control measures have been mitigated remain unclear.ObjectiveTo investigate whether frequent WFH is associated with prolonged SB and to explore whether the strength of this association differs according to individual characteristics.MethodsProlonged SB was defined as sitting for ≥8 h per day, and WFH frequency was categorized into low (none or one to three times per month), middle (one to three times per week), and high (four times per week or almost every day) groups. Multivariate logistic regression was adopted to analyze the association between WFH frequency and prolonged SB.ResultsParticipants in the middle and high frequency WFH groups were 1.69 and 1.88 times more likely to experience prolonged SB, respectively than those in the low frequency group. The subgroup analysis showed that this association was particularly strong among full-time employees in non-managerial positions, males, and employees working 40 h or more per week, meaning that the odds ratio was higher than in other subgroups.ConclusionsThis study shows a longitudinal association between frequent WFH and prolonged SB among Japanese desk workers. Furthermore, interventions aimed at reducing SB should focus on high-risk groups to mitigate potential health risks in the post-pandemic work environment.