Office Equipment Concerning Sedentariness of Employees Assessed by Self-Reported Levels of Physical Activity

Objectives. Prolonged sitting in office settings is known to provoke unfavourable health outcomes. This study aimed to assess the role of office equipment in the self-reported physical activity level of office employees.
Materials and Methods. 53 Latvian office employees were anonymously asked about their working conditions and subjective physical activity level using the 10-point Likert scale through electronically distributed questionnaires. This study was a part of the project “Multidisciplinary approach for the development of sustainable habit of regular physical activity among sedentary workers” (RSU/LSPA-PA-2024/1-0013) which was funded by the framework of the Plan of the European Union Recovery and Resilience Facility and the State budget (Nr.5.2.1.1.i.0/2/24/I/CFLA/005).
Results. 90.6% of respondents noted that their dominant position while working was prolonged sitting, 52.8% usually worked for 31-40 hours, but 39.7% - even more than 41 hours. Surprisingly, employees with stationary computers in offices and working remotely subjectively were slightly more physically active (mean 5.44±1.62 and 6.00±1.16 points respectively out of a 10-point Likert scale) than those working on laptops (5.33±1.71, p>0.05). Those whose onsite workplace was equipped with height adjustable desks reported lower activity levels (5.10±1.87) than those who sat at regular tables (5.44±1.46, p>0.05), but while working remotely – 6.00±1.87 with hight adjustable tables vs. 5.23±1.55 without. 25.0% of office employees whose workplace was equipped with height adjustable tables used it solely for sitting, but 58.3% used it for standing for less than a quarter of the working day.
Conclusions. Preliminary results show that subjective physical activity assessment does not correlate much with workplace equipment. Probably, employees working on stationary computers feel discomfort that stimulates them to be more physically active. Various factors could contribute to the subjective feelings making self-reported assessment an imprecise instrument. Objective measurements are necessary for precise estimation of occupational interventions for the reduction of sedentariness.