Moving more starts at work. In 2022, Canadian research by the Institute for Work and Health showed that:
– workers who are constantly on their feet or moving during the day have a 14% lower risk of heart disease than workers who are sedentary at work.
– workers who alternate between light and moderate activity during the day have a 27% lower risk of heart disease than sedentary workers.
Over a decade ago, the sensational “Sitting is killing you” infographic published by medicalbillingandcoding.org showed some dire statistics, not all of which have held up to scientific scrutiny. Nonetheless, it got our attention. We started to pay attention to how long we were sitting during the day. And while the numbers might not have hit the mark scientifically, most researchers agree that sitting all day and all evening is bad for your back, for your metabolism, and for your heart. And most HR people have a good idea of what bad backs, metabolic disorders, and heart problems do to attendance, productivity and turnover.
Safety and HR professionals should note that even regular exercise outside work may not fully counteract the health risks of prolonged sitting during the workday. The solution lies in promoting intermittent movement throughout the day. Neither sitting nor standing all day is ideal.
Many adults accept back pain, heart disease, and metabolic disorders as natural consequences of aging. However, none of us want to see these issues affecting our children. A 2024 literature review paper by Wang et al. concluded that
“The long-term passive sedentary behaviour caused by screen time was likely to increase the rate of obesity and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in children and adolescents and limit the development of skeletal muscle, cognitive function, and mental health shaping and development.”
They recommended avoiding or interrupting sedentary behaviour, and including at least 60 minutes of moderate to high intensity physical activity, every day, and high intensity activity 3 or more times per week.
To support employee well-being, workplaces must encourage intermittent movement throughout the day. This includes incorporating a mix of activities—strength, cardio, balance, stretching, and even vision exercises—into the daily routine. Doing so not only fosters a healthier workforce but also helps employees model positive behaviors for their families.
If your New Year’s resolution is to move more, ask your employer about running our FREE January “Move it” trial. We’ve created a bundle of images that show how to perform over 50 different activities, that can be done at work. All you need to do is remind people to do them. (Oh, and roll out a baseline and follow up survey so we can share how effective the program was.)
Interested? Contact Carrie@TaylordErgo.com. The free trial offer applies to a 6-week period that must start no later than January 17 and end by February 28. If you like the program, you can purchase it at the end of the trial.
Want more info about the package? Info is available here.
Would you like to train some activity champions at your workplace? We can do that too. Our training includes activities that “prove” how stretching, strengthening, balance, mobility, and vision activities work.