Perceived office environments and occupational physical activity in office-based workers

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Environmental Psychology
• Physical Activity Research

Background:

• Office-based occupations are characterized by low physical activity levels.
• Limited research exists on the socio-ecological factors influencing workplace physical activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors influencing office workers' perceptions of their work environment.
• To examine the relationship between these perceptions and occupational physical activity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Movement at Work Survey for environmental perceptions.
• Conducted principal component analysis (PCA) on survey data.
• Measured occupational physical activity (step count, standing, sitting, sit-to-stand transitions) using accelerometers in a sub-sample.

Main Results:

• PCA identified four key environmental perception factors.
• Perceived management discouragement of breaks was significantly associated with lower hourly step counts (B = -64.5).
• No other environmental perceptions correlated with activity or sitting time.

Conclusions:

• Perceived managerial discouragement of breaks may lead to significant reductions in occupational step count.
• Further research is needed to understand the role of the workplace socio-cultural environment, particularly management, in promoting occupational walking.