Studies show that long periods of sitting can increase the risk of physical and mental health issues in both the short and long term. With desk-based workers spending on average 75% of their workday sitting, SafeWork Australia has now recognised too much sitting as a workplace health and safety issue.
When you sit, your large postural muscles are not working very hard. This means you spend very little energy and your blood circulation is reduced. The cumulative impacts on the body and mind of too much sitting can have serious health consequences, including increased risk of:
Even if you exercise regularly if you sit for long periods throughout the day, you are at risk.
Healthy employees make a healthy business. In addition to the health benefits for employees, there are many potential benefits for your organisation.
Moving more throughout the day promotes blood flow and oxygen to our brains, resulting in better mental clarity, focus and creativity.
Sitting less reduces the risk of employees developing chronic conditions that require taking more sick days per year than that of healthy individuals.
Investment in programs that support worker health, safety and wellbeing can improve employee morale, recruitment and retention.
Sitting for shorter periods at a time can reduce the risk of some musculoskeletal disorders, commonly associated with work-related injury and illness in Australia.
When management actively promotes workers’ health and wellbeing, organisational and team culture is shown to improve as a result.
The BeUpstanding program is provided free of charge, and the strategies for behavioural change are no or low-cost for organisations to implement.
Sitting less has great benefits for your workers’ and your organisation’s health.
Be the one to start the change in your workplace.
The BeUpstanding Champion Toolkit is brought to you by researchers at The University of Queensland, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences.
For additional support services related to BeUpstanding, contact the team at The University of Queensland at beupstanding@uq.edu.au.