Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and its longitudinal association with physical activity and sedentary behavior
OBJECTIVE: Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many workers’ daily life and possibly their physical activity behavior. We studied the longitudinal association of working from home during the pandemic with physical activity and sedentary behavior. METHODS: Longitudinal data fr...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH)
2022-07-01
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Series: | Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health |
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https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=4027
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author | Bette Loef Sandra H van Oostrom Maaike van der Noordt Lifelines Corona Research initiative Karin I Proper |
author_facet | Bette Loef Sandra H van Oostrom Maaike van der Noordt Lifelines Corona Research initiative Karin I Proper |
author_sort | Bette Loef |
collection | DOAJ |
description | OBJECTIVE: Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many workers’ daily life and possibly their physical activity behavior. We studied the longitudinal association of working from home during the pandemic with physical activity and sedentary behavior. METHODS: Longitudinal data from 17 questionnaire rounds of the Lifelines COVID-19 cohort (March 2020–February 2021) were used. In total, 33 325 workers were included. In every round, participants reported their current work situation: location, home, or hybrid (working on location and from home). Physical activity levels and sedentary behavior before and during the pandemic were asked. Logistic generalized estimating equations adjusted for demographic/work/health covariates were used to study the association of work situation with physical activity and sedentary behavior. RESULTS: Home workers were less likely to meet the recommended ≥150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity activity during the pandemic than location workers [odds ratio (OR) 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.90–0.96] and more likely to be less physically active than before the pandemic (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.04–1.14). Furthermore, compared to location workers, home and hybrid workers were more likely to be more sedentary (sitting ≥8 hours/day) on workdays during than before the pandemic (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.39–1.64/1.36–1.68, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to location workers, home workers (and to a lesser extent hybrid workers) were more often physically inactive and sedentary during than before the COVID-19 pandemic. As a substantial part of the working population may continue to work (partly) from home after the pandemic, workers should be supported to increase activity and reduce sitting while working from home. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-12T12:03:37Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-3736a0447d24405bbc99d910e33414ea |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 0355-3140 1795-990X |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-12T12:03:37Z |
publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
publisher | Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH) |
record_format | Article |
series | Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health |
spelling | doaj.art-3736a0447d24405bbc99d910e33414ea2022-12-22T00:25:02ZengNordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH)Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health0355-31401795-990X2022-07-0148538039010.5271/sjweh.40274027Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and its longitudinal association with physical activity and sedentary behaviorBette Loef0Sandra H van OostromMaaike van der NoordtLifelines Corona Research initiativeKarin I ProperCenter for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.OBJECTIVE: Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many workers’ daily life and possibly their physical activity behavior. We studied the longitudinal association of working from home during the pandemic with physical activity and sedentary behavior. METHODS: Longitudinal data from 17 questionnaire rounds of the Lifelines COVID-19 cohort (March 2020–February 2021) were used. In total, 33 325 workers were included. In every round, participants reported their current work situation: location, home, or hybrid (working on location and from home). Physical activity levels and sedentary behavior before and during the pandemic were asked. Logistic generalized estimating equations adjusted for demographic/work/health covariates were used to study the association of work situation with physical activity and sedentary behavior. RESULTS: Home workers were less likely to meet the recommended ≥150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity activity during the pandemic than location workers [odds ratio (OR) 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.90–0.96] and more likely to be less physically active than before the pandemic (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.04–1.14). Furthermore, compared to location workers, home and hybrid workers were more likely to be more sedentary (sitting ≥8 hours/day) on workdays during than before the pandemic (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.39–1.64/1.36–1.68, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to location workers, home workers (and to a lesser extent hybrid workers) were more often physically inactive and sedentary during than before the COVID-19 pandemic. As a substantial part of the working population may continue to work (partly) from home after the pandemic, workers should be supported to increase activity and reduce sitting while working from home. https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=4027 sittinglongitudinal studyphysical activityphysical inactivitysedentary behaviorcovid-19working from homelocation workerhybrid workerhome worker |
spellingShingle | Bette Loef Sandra H van Oostrom Maaike van der Noordt Lifelines Corona Research initiative Karin I Proper Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and its longitudinal association with physical activity and sedentary behavior Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health sitting longitudinal study physical activity physical inactivity sedentary behavior covid-19 working from home location worker hybrid worker home worker |
title | Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and its longitudinal association with physical activity and sedentary behavior |
title_full | Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and its longitudinal association with physical activity and sedentary behavior |
title_fullStr | Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and its longitudinal association with physical activity and sedentary behavior |
title_full_unstemmed | Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and its longitudinal association with physical activity and sedentary behavior |
title_short | Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and its longitudinal association with physical activity and sedentary behavior |
title_sort | working from home during the covid 19 pandemic and its longitudinal association with physical activity and sedentary behavior |
topic | sitting longitudinal study physical activity physical inactivity sedentary behavior covid-19 working from home location worker hybrid worker home worker |
url |
https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=4027
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