--- title: To sit, to stand, to walk? The office conundrum description: Sit-Stand-Walk image: https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/workplace-ergonomics.jpg --- - [About Us](http://www.employhealth.com.au/about-us/) - [Injury Management](http://www.employhealth.com.au/contact-us/#) - [Onsite Physiotherapy](http://www.employhealth.com.au/onsite-physiotherapy/) - [Fitness for Work](http://www.employhealth.com.au/fitness-for-work/) - [Job Dictionary](http://www.employhealth.com.au/job-dictionary/) - [Injury Prevention](http://www.employhealth.com.au/contact-us/#) - [Pre-Employment](http://www.employhealth.com.au/pre-employment-screening/) - [Workstation ergonomic assessment](http://www.employhealth.com.au/workstation-ergonomic-assessments/) - [Manual Handling Training](http://www.employhealth.com.au/manual-handling-training/) - [Preventive Rehabilitation (PREHAB)](http://www.employhealth.com.au/preventive-rehabilitation/) - [Group Exercise And Personal Training](http://www.employhealth.com.au/group-exercise-personal-training/) - [Workplace Screening Audiometry](http://www.employhealth.com.au/workplace-screening-audiometry/) - [Training](http://www.employhealth.com.au/manual-handling-training/) - [Manual Handling Training](http://www.employhealth.com.au/manual-handling-training/) - [Supervisor Training](http://www.employhealth.com.au/manual-handling-training/supervisor-training/) - [Healthy Eating & Nutrition Workshops](http://www.employhealth.com.au/manual-handling-training/healthy-eating-nutrition-workshops/) - [Health & Wellness](http://www.employhealth.com.au/health-and-wellness/) - [Active Office](http://www.employhealth.com.au/health-and-wellness/active-office/) - [Contact Us](http://www.employhealth.com.au/contact-us/) [Client Login](https://my.smartabase.com/employhealth/) [![Employ Health](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/logo.png)](http://www.employhealth.com.au/) - [About Us](http://www.employhealth.com.au/about-us/) - [Our Services](http://www.employhealth.com.au/#) - Injury Management - [Onsite Physiotherapy](http://www.employhealth.com.au/onsite-physiotherapy/) - [Fitness for Work](http://www.employhealth.com.au/fitness-for-work/) - [Rapid Response](http://www.employhealth.com.au/rapid-response/) - [Job Dictionary](http://www.employhealth.com.au/job-dictionary/) - Injury Prevention - [Pre-Employment](http://www.employhealth.com.au/pre-employment-screening/) - [Workstation Ergonomic Assessments](http://www.employhealth.com.au/workstation-ergonomic-assessments/) - [Manual Handling Training](http://www.employhealth.com.au/manual-handling-training/) - [Preventive Rehabilitation (PREHAB)](http://www.employhealth.com.au/preventive-rehabilitation/) - [Dynamic Warm Up/Stretching Program](http://www.employhealth.com.au/dynamic-warm-upstretching-program/) - [Workplace Screening Audiometry](http://www.employhealth.com.au/workplace-screening-audiometry/) - Health and Wellness - [Health & Wellness programs](http://www.employhealth.com.au/health-and-wellness/) - [Safety and Wellness TV](http://www.employhealth.com.au/safety-and-wellness/) - [Active Office](http://www.employhealth.com.au/health-and-wellness/active-office/) - [Blog](http://www.employhealth.com.au/blog) - [Contact](http://www.employhealth.com.au/contact-us/) - [Join Us](http://www.employhealth.com.au/join-us/) Share this on - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest - LinkedIn - Google+ - [Email](mailto:?body=https://blog.employhealth.com.au/to-sit-to-stand-to-walk-the-office-conundrum) # To sit, to stand, to walk? The office conundrum Sean Archer 15 October, 2020 Problem solved, everybody! All good! Turns out buying everyone in your business a new age sit-to-stand desk will fix all their aches and pains GUARANTEED! ….Not really. Imagine, though. It may help a small percentage of them, but probably not enough to justify the cost. There has been a distinct increase in the amount of people working in sedentary office jobs over the last few decades due to the evolution of the “technology age”, and more recently due to the global health pandemic having more and more people working from home. Many of these workers complain of musculoskeletal symptoms such as pain and stiffness and current research has found increased sedentary time sitting down is directly associated with poor health and mortality. Interventions aimed at increasing walking and standing in the workplace have been effective at decreasing the time people spend sitting down. It was still unclear, however, if these strategies were effective at reducing the intensity or prevalence of pain and stiffness amongst these office workers.     **What does the evidence tell us?** Proactive businesses that are aware of the risks of prolonged sitting to their workers’ health, have started investigating ways to increase the amount of time standing or walking in the workplace. This usually involves changes to the physical environment through devices such as sit-to-stand desks and even treadmill workstations (yes, actual treadmills), or strategies aimed at the individual where they utilise devices such as activity trackers. These businesses should honestly be congratulated for identifying health risks to their workers and trying to address them. Unfortunately, a recent Cochrane review (high level review of current studies) found no conclusive evidence that strategies to increase standing or walking are effective in reducing the intensity or presence of musculoskeletal symptoms (aches and pains) among office workers. That’s a shame.   **So what can businesses do instead?** I’m not completely ruling out the use of sit-to-stand desks and activity trackers all together. However, I am saying they’re only ‘sexy’ sit-to-stand desks, if used correctly. We know from previous research, workers are more likely to use a sit/stand workstation effectively when provided with the right education and also less likely to experience pain and soreness from the transition to sit/stand work when provided with guidelines and ergonomic set up advice from a physiotherapist. In the end, more studies need to be done in this area as these current 'interventions' smack of a fad/bandaid approach, when workplaces need long term, tailored solutions for sustainable change.    Employ Health’s stance is around creating an office environment that encourages greater movement. An Active Office! Getting people up and away from their desks more frequently lends to more sustainable long term outcomes for pain & function. Interactive education presentations that take place at their very workstations or an onsite physiotherapy presence, such as an Employ Health – Health Hub, is a perfect way to help develop tailor based strategies and provide guidance on ways to manage and support your workers and have them feeling great. Investing in the health of your workforce may be one of your greatest business opportunities.    **References** 1. Bauman A, Ainsworth BE, Sallis JF, Hagstromer M, Craig CL, Bull FC, Pratt M, Venugopal K, Chau J, Sjostrom M: The descriptive epidemiology of sitting - a 20 country comparison using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Am J Prev Med. 2011, 41: 228-235. 10.1016/j.amepre.2011.05.003. 2. Parry SP, Coenen P, Shrestha N, O'Sullivan PB, Maher CG, Straker LM. Workplace interventions for increasing standing or walking for decreasing musculoskeletal symptoms in sedentary workers. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2019, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD012487. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012487.pub2 [Add Comment](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/to-sit-to-stand-to-walk-the-office-conundrum#comment-form) [0 Comments](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/to-sit-to-stand-to-walk-the-office-conundrum#comments-listing) ### Categories - [injury prevention (36)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/tag/injury-prevention) - [Health & Wellness (27)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/tag/health-wellness) - [risk management (20)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/tag/risk-management) - [Prevention (9)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/tag/prevention) - [Work Injury (9)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/tag/work-injury) - [workplace health innovation (9)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/tag/workplace-health-innovation) ### Recent Posts [![Movember 2021](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/shutterstock_1215312172.jpg "Movember 2021")](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/get-ready-movember-2020-0) ## [Movember 2021](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/get-ready-movember-2020-0) 3 November, 2021 [![Employ Health Physiotherapist, Quentin Rew, 'Walking the Walk' at his third Olympic Games in Tokyo](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/Q-1.jpeg "Employ Health Physiotherapist, Quentin Rew, 'Walking the Walk' at his third Olympic Games in Tokyo")](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/employ-health-physiotherapist-quentin-rew-walking-the-walk-at-his-third-olympic-games-in-tokyo) ## [Employ Health Physiotherapist, Quentin Rew, 'Walking the Walk' at his third Olympic Games in Tokyo](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/employ-health-physiotherapist-quentin-rew-walking-the-walk-at-his-third-olympic-games-in-tokyo) 27 July, 2021 [![Mental Health during COVID-19](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/MH.jpg "Mental Health during COVID-19")](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/mental-health-during-covid-19) ## [Mental Health during COVID-19](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/mental-health-during-covid-19) 19 March, 2021 ### Archives - [September 2020 (8)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2020/09) - [July 2020 (7)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2020/07) - [August 2020 (6)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2020/08) - [October 2020 (6)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2020/10) - [August 2016 (5)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2016/08) - [June 2020 (5)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2020/06) - [May 2017 (4)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2017/05) - [May 2020 (4)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2020/05) - [January 2016 (3)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2016/01) - [July 2016 (3)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2016/07) - [September 2016 (3)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2016/09) - [March 2017 (3)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2017/03) - [June 2017 (3)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2017/06) - [August 2017 (3)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2017/08) - [October 2017 (3)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2017/10) - [January 2020 (3)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2020/01) - [April 2016 (2)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2016/04) - [June 2016 (2)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2016/06) - [January 2017 (2)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2017/01) - [September 2017 (2)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2017/09) - [January 2019 (2)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2019/01) - [June 2019 (2)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2019/06) - [March 2020 (2)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2020/03) - [April 2020 (2)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2020/04) - [February 2016 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2016/02) - [May 2016 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2016/05) - [December 2016 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2016/12) - [February 2017 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2017/02) - [April 2017 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2017/04) - [July 2017 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2017/07) - [January 2018 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2018/01) - [March 2018 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2018/03) - [April 2019 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2019/04) - [August 2019 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2019/08) - [September 2019 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2019/09) - [February 2020 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2020/02) - [March 2021 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2021/03) - [July 2021 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2021/07) - [November 2021 (1)](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/archive/2021/11) ### Just some of Employ Health’s clients We work with businesses ranging from of 15 to 2000+ staff, implementing onsite programs for single sites through to multi-sites both locally and nationally. The industries we have provided solutions to include manufacturing, construction, services, and for private and listed companies as well as government. - ![Orora](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/orora.png) orora - ![Pepsico](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/pepsico.png) pepsico - ![CSR](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/csr.png) csr - ![Tiptop](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/tiptop.png) tiptop - ![PGH](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/pgh.png) pgh - ![A-and-L](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/a-and-l.png) a-and-l - ![Monier](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/monier.png) monier - ![Austral](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/austral.png) austral - ![Awx](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/awx-logo.png) awx-logo - ![Essendon](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/essendon-logo.png) essendon-logo ![Employ Health](https://blog.employhealth.com.au/hubfs/EmployHealth-Jan2018/Images/logo-footer.png) **Copyright © Employ Health 2015** | [Terms & Conditions](http://www.employhealth.com.au/terms-and-conditions/) [Privacy Policy](http://www.employhealth.com.au/privacy-policy) | Website by [Follow](http://follow.com.au)