Reallocating desk workers' sitting time to standing or stepping: associations with work performance

BACKGROUND

Studies have suggested that sitting time at work may lead to underperformance but they may underestimate the benefits to desk workers' performance of reducing occupational sitting time without considering the relative effects of the specific activities replaced.

AIMS

To estimate differences in work performance (presenteeism, absenteeism and engagement) when occupational sitting time is reallocated to standing/stepping in desk workers.

METHODS

Data for middle-aged desk workers were from a Japan-wide online survey (n = 2228). Self-report proportion of occupational sitting and standing/stepping, work hours and work performance indicators, including absolute (ratings relating only to self) and relative (ratings of self, compared to others) presenteeism and absenteeism, and dimensions of work engagement, were collected. Partition and isotemporal substitution models were used to investigate the associations of occupational sitting and standing/stepping time with work performance, including their reallocation effects.

RESULTS

In partition models, longer occupational sitting time was associated with a lower absolute presenteeism score (i.e. less productivity), lower absolute absenteeism (i.e. longer-than-expected work hours), and lower engagement. Longer occupational standing/stepping time was associated with lower absolute absenteeism and more engagement. Isotemporal substitution models showed that each hour of occupational sitting reallocated to standing/stepping was favourably associated with overall work engagement (B = 0.087; 95% confidence interval 0.051, 0.122) and its dimensions (B ranged from 0.078 to 0.092), but was not associated with presenteeism or absenteeism.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that management support and practical initiatives to encourage desk workers to replace portions of their sitting time with standing/stepping may contribute to enhanced work engagement.

Integrating GIS and fuzzy logic for urban solid waste management (a case study of Sanandaj city, Iran)

The city of Sanandaj with population of 340000 in 2003 produces 714 tons of solid waste per day. Waste dumping is the main method of solid waste disposal during the thirty past years. The conditions show that the present site is quite unsuitable because many principles and criteria for site selection are not considered. So in the near future, the severe environmental impacts will threats the health of Sanandaj's inhabitants. The research attempts to integrate fuzzy logic and GIS with the help of Remote Sensing in selecting the most suitable area for the waste disposal. In this study we georeferenced many data which ranges from physical to socio-economic to monitor the impacts of all different factors. Some of these factors are; distance from the legal limits of the city, distance from main road, airport, main urban utilities, other human settlements, surface water resources, wind direction, population density, gradient, fault line, vegetation cover and geology. The data and information has been integrated and then by using satellite images, three areas in the 20 km of north east of Sanandaj city were identified for the solid waste disposal.