Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in a Flexible Workplace: Employee and Management Perceptions and Strategies for Intervention

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Olsen, H
Brown, W
Kolbe-Alexander, T
Burton, N
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2016
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Melbourne, Australia

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Introduction: Workplaces that enable employees to vary their work hours and work off-site (flexible work practices) present a new context for health promotion. There is a need for more research to understand employees’ experiences and inform potential intervention strategies in this context. This study examined employees’ and managers’ perceptions of the impact of flexible work practices on physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB), and preferred intervention strategies. Methods: Office-based employees (n=28) were stratified into three groups based on self-reported PA level (high, medium, low) and attended a 1 hour focus group. Managers (n=10) attended a separate 1 hour focus group. Participants were asked to comment on the impact of flexible work practices on PA and SB, and to identify important components of intervention strategies. Results: Employees felt that flexible working practices did not impact on recreational PA. However, all groups believed that occupational sitting time had increased. Both employees and managers were interested in workplace interventions that focused on individual managing their own behavior (vs e.g. environmental change). Employees also felt it was important for interventions to be accessible from any location, and to include an element of online social support due to the ‘disconnection’ of staff in different work locations. Conclusions: Workplace interventions for reducing occupational sitting time may be more acceptable than increasing recreational activity. Intervention strategies for workplaces with flexible work practices should aim to include elements to promote selfmanagement and social connectedness, and not be embedded in the office site.

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International Journal of Behavioral Medicine

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23

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Supplement 1

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Psychology

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Psychology, Clinical

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Olsen, H; Brown, W; Kolbe-Alexander, T; Burton, N, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in a Flexible Workplace: Employee and Management Perceptions and Strategies for Intervention, International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2016, 23, pp. S85-S85