Effects of Active Sitting on Reading and Typing Task Productivity

Increased sedentary behavior and reduced physical activity among children and adults has led to the advent of various active devices to combat these behaviors. Active sitting, consisting of modified chairs or stability balls, allows the body to stay dynamic while seated. While research has evaluated the health benefits of active sitting, minimal research has shown the effects of active sitting on productivity in adult populations. The purpose was to evaluate the effects of various chairs (active versus non-active) on typing and reading task productivity. Twenty adult participants performed typing and reading tasks for 10-minutes while sitting on each of the following: standard chair (SC), stability ball (SB), and active sitting chair (ST). Reading comprehension (RC), words per minute (WPM), accuracy, and errors were measured following each task. Additionally, perceived productivity was measured using a self-reported rating of difficulty scale (1-10). In terms of RC, there was no difference between the chairs (p = 0.16). However, perceived productivity was significantly greater on the SC as compared to SB (p < 0.01) and ST (p < 0.01). For the typing task, no differences were demonstrated for errors (p = 0.87) or accuracy (p = 0.91). However, WPM was significantly greater on SC (38.8 ± 10.5) compared to ST (35.9 ± 9.5) (p = 0.02). For perceived typing productivity, SC and SB demonstrated significantly greater values compared to ST (p < 0.01). Results suggest that various types of active sitting may have a minimal negative effect on workplace performance and perceived productivity.