Prolonged Sitting: Advice for your Team
2nd August 2024
The Hidden Health Risks of Prolonged Sitting: Why Staying Sedentary Can Be Detrimental
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) reported on the health risks associated with prolonged static sitting at work and also provided a range of measures that organisations should consider including in their DSE Policy, Training and Assessments to provide greater staff protection.
With many jobs become more sedentary, there is mounting evidence that links employees spending prolonged periods working in sedentary positions having increased health risks.
The situation has been exacerbated by COVID-19, which has seen staff members work from their homes and other locations.
The report identifies a number of health risks linked to prolonged sitting, which is defined as being sedentary for two hours or longer at a time. These include lower back pain, upper limb disorders (ULDs), type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, obesity, certain types of cancers and mental health issues.
From the 2019 European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks, the second most frequently reported risk factor in the EU-27 (61% of establishments) was prolonged sitting.
What can we do?
As a starting point, organisations need to ensure staff have a suitable ergonomic workstation including an appropriate chair, stool, table and, if they drive for work, driver’s seat. The ability to adjust the workstation is important to allow changes in posture and comfortable working.
Organisations should consider how work can be organised to limit sitting and promote movement. This can be done by balancing the tasks that need to be performed and by providing opportunities for active work, task rotation, job enrichment, minibreaks and individual control options. Staff need to be given sufficient control over their work so they can alter how they work and take a break when needed.
The report suggested that two hours should be considered as the maximum time for continuous sitting and that staff need to get up every 20-30 minutes and change position between sitting, standing and walking.
It adds that staff also need to vary their posture when they are sitting as much as possible, including ‘dynamic sitting’ (where sitting positions are continuously altered) and doing occasional stretching exercises, either sitting or standing up.
Further information and resources:
Health and Safety subscribers can find related templates and policies HERE.