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Device-measured physical activity and sedentary behavior during office versus remote workdays among hybrid workers
Tuija Leskinen1, Miika Tuominen, Kristin Suorsa
1Department of Public Health, FI-20014 University of Turku, Finland. tuija.leskinen@utu.fi.
Objectives:
Daily sedentary time (SED) has been found to be higher during remote compared to office workdays, but current evidence mostly relies on studies from COVID-19 pandemic times. This study aimed to compare device-measured physical activity (PA) and SED between office and remote workdays, worktimes, and non-worktimes among Finnish hybrid workers after the pandemic.
Methods:
Overall, 97 university employees [84% women, mean age 41.6 (standard deviation 10.5) years] wore Fibion SENS sensors on their thigh for seven consecutive days and provided at least one remote and one office workday. SED, light PA (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were measured for remote and office workdays, worktimes, and non-worktimes. A linear mixed model was used to study the within-individual differences.
Results:
Remote workdays had 44 minutes [95% confidence interval (CI) 25-64] higher SED, 29 minutes (95% CI 11-48) lower LPA, and 15 minutes (95% CI 10-20) lower MVPA compared to office workdays. Also, remote worktime included 32 minutes (95% CI 16-48) more SED, 25 minutes (95% CI 9-41) less LPA, and 7 minutes (95% CI 5-9) less MVPA compared to office worktime. Non-working hours had higher SED and lower MVPA during remote versus office workday.
Conclusions:
Remote workdays included less PA and more SED compared to office workdays, especially during working hours. Because of the popularity of remote work, strategies to promote PA during remote workdays, in addition to commonly recommended strategies to reduce sitting, are warranted.
