Effects of Installing Height-adjustable Workstations on Office Workers Workplace Sitting Time and Productivity

• Sponsor: Sheffield Hallam University (Other)
• Overall Status: Completed
• CT.gov ID: NCT02932787
• Collaborator: (none)
• Enrollment: 31
• Arms: 2
• Duration (Months): 23

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study was to look at the effects that height-adjustable workstations on occupational sitting time and workplace productivity in office workers. Participants workplace activity (sitting, standing and walking) and productivity was measured before the installation of the height-adjustable workstations. Workplace activity and productivity were then measured four weeks after the installation of height-adjustable workstations. The results were compared to a control group who received no intervention whilst the intervention had the height-adjustable workstations.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Workplace Inactivity	Device: Height-adjustable workstation	N/A

Detailed Description

Sedentary behaviour has been found to be ubiquitous within the workplace and due to the negative consequences of sedentary behaviour upon health, research has began to look at ways to reduce and interrupt sedentary behaviour.

Interventions that have introduced height-adjustable workstations into the workplace have been found to reduce sedentary behaviour. Some employees and employers are concerned that using height-adjustable workstations and trying to reduce workplace sedentary behaviour can lead to a loss of workplace productivity.

The present study looked at the effects of installing height-adjustable workstations on occupational sitting time and workplace productivity in desk-based workers. Workplace activity was measured objectively using ActivPal accelerometers and productivity was measured via self-report measures. Measurements took place at baseline and four weeks after receiving the height-adjustable workstation.

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Actual Enrollment: 31 participants
• Allocation: Randomized
• Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)
• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Official Title: Effects of Installing Height-adjustable Workstations on Occupational Sitting Time and Workplace Productivity in Desk-based Workers
• Study Start Date: Dec 1, 2013
• Actual Primary Completion Date: Nov 1, 2015
• Actual Study Completion Date: Nov 1, 2015

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Height-adjustable workstation Participants received a height-adjustable workstation for four weeks	Device: Height-adjustable workstation
No Intervention: Control

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

1. Change in Workplace Sedentary Time [Baseline (0 weeks), 4 weeks after installation of height-adjustable workstations]

   The amount of time a participant spends sitting whilst in the workplace (minutes). This was measured using a thigh-worn ActivPAL accelerometer.

Secondary Outcome Measures

1. Change in Workplace Absenteeism Using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire [Baseline (0 weeks), 4 weeks after installation of height-adjustable workstations]

   Self-reported absolute absenteeism (the amount of time a participant was absent from work for during the previous 7-days) measured using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire. This is calculated in relation to a participants contracted hours, therefore a negative score shows that a participant worked less than they are contracted to, where as a positive score means a participant reported working more hours than they are contracted to.

2. Change in Workplace Presenteeism Using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire [Baseline (0 weeks), 4 weeks after installation of height-adjustable workstations]

   Self-reported absolute presenteeism (an employees productivity during working hours) measured using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire. The higher the percentage, the more productive a participant felt they were. 100% means that they felt they were productive the whole time they were working. Presenteeism can be impacted upon by illness and other health conditions, if a person was feeling ill or had a back problem, this may mean that they are less productive whilst at work.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years to 65 Years
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

1. age 18 to 65 years,

2. working ≥0.6 full time equivalents,

3. access to a work telephone and desktop computer with internet,

4. not pregnant,

5. no planned absence >1 week during the trial,

6. not chair-bound or uniquely impaired such that reducing occupational sitting time was not feasible,

7. no pre-existing musculoskeletal disorder.

Exclusion Criteria:

Contacts and Locations

Locations

No locations specified.

Sponsors and Collaborators

• Sheffield Hallam University

Investigators

• Principal Investigator: Simon H Till, Sheffield Hallam University

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

• Kazi A, Duncan M, Clemes S, Haslam C. A survey of sitting time among UK employees. Occup Med (Lond). 2014 Oct;64(7):497-502. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqu099. Epub 2014 Aug 18.
• Kessler RC, Barber C, Beck A, Berglund P, Cleary PD, McKenas D, Pronk N, Simon G, Stang P, Ustun TB, Wang P. The World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ). J Occup Environ Med. 2003 Feb;45(2):156-74.
• Neuhaus M, Eakin EG, Straker L, Owen N, Dunstan DW, Reid N, Healy GN. Reducing occupational sedentary time: a systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence on activity-permissive workstations. Obes Rev. 2014 Oct;15(10):822-38. doi: 10.1111/obr.12201. Epub 2014 Jul 11. Review.
• Wilmot EG, Edwardson CL, Achana FA, Davies MJ, Gorely T, Gray LJ, Khunti K, Yates T, Biddle SJ. Sedentary time in adults and the association with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death: systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetologia. 2012 Nov;55(11):2895-905. doi: 10.1007/s00125-012-2677-z. Epub 2012 Aug 14. Review. Erratum in: Diabetologia. 2013 Apr;56(4):942-3.

• Responsible Party: Sheffield Hallam University
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02932787
• Other Study ID Numbers: SHU-AWS-RCT
• First Posted: Oct 13, 2016
• Last Update Posted: Apr 28, 2020
• Last Verified: Apr 1, 2020

Study Results

Participant Flow

Recruitment Details	Office-based workplace (UK)

Arm/Group Title	Height-adjustable Workstation	Control
Arm/Group Description	Participants received a height-adjustable workstation for four weeks Height-adjustable workstation
Period Title: Overall Study
STARTED	22	9
COMPLETED	22	9
NOT COMPLETED	0	0

Baseline Characteristics

Arm/Group Title	Height-adjustable Workstation	Control	Total
Arm/Group Description	Participants received a height-adjustable workstation for four weeks Height-adjustable workstation	Total of all reporting groups
Overall Participants	22	9	31
Age (Count of Participants)
<=18 years	0 0%	0 0%	0 0%
Between 18 and 65 years	22 100%	9 100%	31 100%
>=65 years	0 0%	0 0%	0 0%
Age (years) [Mean (Standard Deviation) ]
Mean (Standard Deviation) [years]	46 (10.3)	37 (7.26)	43.38 (9.42)
Sex: Female, Male (Count of Participants)
Female	12 54.5%	7 77.8%	19 61.3%
Male	10 45.5%	2 22.2%	12 38.7%
Region of Enrollment (Count of Participants)
United Kingdom	22 100%	9 100%	31 100%

Outcome Measures

1. Primary Outcome

Title	Change in Workplace Sedentary Time
Description	The amount of time a participant spends sitting whilst in the workplace (minutes). This was measured using a thigh-worn ActivPAL accelerometer.
Time Frame	Baseline (0 weeks), 4 weeks after installation of height-adjustable workstations

Outcome Measure Data

Analysis Population Description

[Not Specified]

Arm/Group Title	Height-adjustable Workstation	Control
Arm/Group Description	Participants that received a height-adjustable workstation	Participants that did not receive a height-adjustable workstation
Measure Participants	11	6
Baseline	369 (43.75)	355 (73.69)
4-Weeks after installation	229 (46.35)	338 (70.4)

2. Secondary Outcome

Title	Change in Workplace Absenteeism Using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire
Description	Self-reported absolute absenteeism (the amount of time a participant was absent from work for during the previous 7-days) measured using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire. This is calculated in relation to a participants contracted hours, therefore a negative score shows that a participant worked less than they are contracted to, where as a positive score means a participant reported working more hours than they are contracted to.
Time Frame	Baseline (0 weeks), 4 weeks after installation of height-adjustable workstations

Outcome Measure Data

Analysis Population Description

[Not Specified]

Arm/Group Title	Height-adjustable Workstation	Control
Arm/Group Description	Participants received a height-adjustable workstation for four weeks Height-adjustable workstation	Participants that did not receive a height-adjustable workstation
Measure Participants	21	7
Baseline Absenteeism	-4	-8
4-Week Absenteeism	0	0

3. Secondary Outcome

Title	Change in Workplace Presenteeism Using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire
Description	Self-reported absolute presenteeism (an employees productivity during working hours) measured using the World Health Organisation Health and Work Performance Questionnaire. The higher the percentage, the more productive a participant felt they were. 100% means that they felt they were productive the whole time they were working. Presenteeism can be impacted upon by illness and other health conditions, if a person was feeling ill or had a back problem, this may mean that they are less productive whilst at work.
Time Frame	Baseline (0 weeks), 4 weeks after installation of height-adjustable workstations

Outcome Measure Data

Analysis Population Description

[Not Specified]

Arm/Group Title	Height-adjustable Workstation	Control
Arm/Group Description	Participants received a height-adjustable workstation	Participants that did not received a height-adjustable workstation
Measure Participants	21	7
Baseline Presenteeism	80	80
4-Week Presenteeism	80	90

Adverse Events

Arm/Group Title	Height-adjustable Workstation		Control
Arm/Group Description	Participants received a height-adjustable workstation for four weeks		Participants that did not receive a height-adjustable workstation
All Cause Mortality
	Height-adjustable Workstation		Control
	Affected / at Risk (%)	# Events	Affected / at Risk (%)	# Events
Total	0/22 (0%)		0/9 (0%)
Serious Adverse Events
	Height-adjustable Workstation		Control
	Affected / at Risk (%)	# Events	Affected / at Risk (%)	# Events
Total	0/22 (0%)		0/9 (0%)
Other (Not Including Serious) Adverse Events
	Height-adjustable Workstation		Control
	Affected / at Risk (%)	# Events	Affected / at Risk (%)	# Events
Total	0/22 (0%)		0/9 (0%)

Limitations/Caveats

[Not Specified]

More Information

Certain Agreements

All Principal Investigators ARE employed by the organization sponsoring the study.

There is NOT an agreement between Principal Investigators and the Sponsor (or its agents) that restricts the PI's rights to discuss or publish trial results after the trial is completed.