A new survey has found nearly half of female office workers and over one in three male office workers spend less than 30 minutes on their feet at work each day.
In a study of 2,000 office workers, commissioned by the ‘On Your Feet Britain’ campaign, 45% of women and 37% of men said they spent less than half an hour on their feet in a typical seven or eight-hour working day, with more than half regularly eating their lunch at their desk too.
But 78% of respondents did raise concerns about their situation, admitting they felt that they spent too much time sitting down in the office. Almost two-thirds said they were worried that the amount of time they spent sitting at work was having a negative impact on their health.
The study, set up by Get Britain Standing and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) was carried out to assess current habits of office workers in a bid to tackle the large number of health problems linked to sitting for long periods of time at work.
The campaign is calling on workers to stand up more during the working day, adjust their posture regularly and walk around the office more during the working day.
Mercury Legal is backing the campaign in a bid to raise awareness of the many health problems associated with associated long periods of sitting and in particular repetitive strain injuries (RSI) – one of the biggest risks facing office workers today.
Speaking about the campaign, Get Britain Standing’s Gavin Bradley told the BBC News website: “We’re all victims of our environment, we’ve taken a lot of activity out of the workplace and we’re sitting longer and longer.
“We need new and innovative ways of addressing the issue.
“Stand up when you’re on the phone or in meetings, do everything you can to avoid sitting.”
Show you support for the campaign by visiting their website here.