Effects of Active Sitting on Reading and Typing Task Productivity

Area of Science:

• Ergonomics and Human Factors
• Occupational Health
• Workplace Productivity Research

Background:

• Rising sedentary behavior necessitates interventions like active sitting devices.
• Existing research primarily focuses on health benefits, with limited data on productivity impacts.
• Adult workplace productivity effects of active sitting remain under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of active versus non-active chairs on adult typing and reading productivity.
• To compare performance metrics and perceived productivity across different seating conditions.

Main Methods:

• Twenty adults completed typing and reading tasks on a standard chair (SC), stability ball (SB), and active sitting chair (ST).
• Productivity measures included reading comprehension (RC), words per minute (WPM), accuracy, and errors.
• Perceived productivity was gauged using a self-reported difficulty scale.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in reading comprehension or typing accuracy/errors were observed.
• Typing speed (WPM) was significantly higher on the standard chair compared to the active sitting chair.
• Perceived productivity was significantly greater for the standard chair and stability ball compared to the active sitting chair.

Conclusions:

• Active sitting chairs may have a minor negative impact on workplace performance and perceived productivity.
• Standard chairs appear more conducive to typing speed and perceived productivity than active sitting options.
• Further research is needed to fully understand the productivity implications of active sitting in adult populations.